We know that to do great work at the university, it takes all of us. To recognize contributions from our colleagues who have helped the OHIO Business Service Center grow and thrive, the OHIO Business Service Center staff have nominated and selected Premier Employee Partners who have been and continue to be instrumental in our success through continued feedback, ideas for process improvement, and/or use of our services.
Tia Hysell, Director of VPFA Auxiliary Services
“I have worked with Tia since she assumed oversight of Logistics. Tia is very inquisitive and loves to know the details behind the numbers. She is always looking for ways to grow her areas while at the same time creating efficiencies that improve productivity and impact process improvement. Thank You Tia for being a fantastic partner!” -- Mindy Colburn
“Tia has been working with us on budget and operational accounting since long before the existing BSC initiative. We have worked together to restructure Parking & Transportation’s financial model, which has provided strategic concepts that can be repeated with other areas across the university. Despite juggling many different hats, she has been incredibly patient during transition times and willing to work with whomever she needs to. Tia is a very collaborative partner and is always open to discuss different ways of doing things. She has a broad perspective and always wants to do what is best for the university as a whole. I greatly appreciate her passion for what she does and her commitment to OU.” -- Moriah Hudspeth
David Ingram, Professor, Physics and Astronomy
“David knows his stuff and is a straight shooter! His expectations are high, but reasonable. Using his thoughtful feedback and suggestions, we have been able to really prioritize positive change to help everyone on campus.” -- Kelly Broughton
“I appreciate how supportive David has been to the BSC and also to me as an individual. He is prompt, logical, and insightful. David is committed to making purchasing better at the university and has worked toward this goal for years. I am grateful that he is willing to discuss issues and provide feedback on how we can improve processes. I wish him the best in retirement, but we will miss him!” -- Heather Krugman
Zaki Kuruppalil, Professor and Chair, Engineering Technology and Management
“I had the honor of working with Zaki during the initial phases of planning for the BSC. Zaki is committed to process improvement and doing things in the most efficient way possible. He has been a great listener and person to bounce ideas off of. I have really appreciated hearing his unique perspective.” -- Moriah Hudspeth
“As co-chair of the OHIO Business Service Center's (OHIO BSC) Advisory Committee initiated by President Hugh Sherman in 2021, Zaki provided a voice for faculty and staff as well as his expertise in process improvement to help formulate the structure and initial service offerings of the OHIO BSC. Zaki benchmarked other institutions and systems used to advise the OHIO BSC as it developed and grew. Zaki continues to be an effective advisor by providing an objective perspective as the OHIO BSC considers next steps and growth opportunities, and we value his willingness to continue to collaborate with the OHIO BSC to bring enhancements and efficiencies to the institution.” -- Sylvia Mickunas
“Zaki has been instrumental in helping set up the existing OHIO Business Service Center. He has been an excellent advisor and advocate. He consistently goes the extra mile to move the center forward. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work and learn from him and for his willingness to co-chair the advisory group with me.” -- Heather Krugman
Beth Meiser, Senior Director of Financial Systems and Solutions, Finance
“Beth has been instrumental to the success of BSC Purchasing’s implementation of a system that not only streamlines our work, but also the work of everyone on campus who uses our services.” -- Kelly Broughton
“Beth has always been a great colleague! Whenever we have a problem or a need, she is always willing to talk things through and work to arrive at a thoughtful solution.” -- Moriah Hudspeth
“Beth was and continues to be an instrumental partner in the success of the OHIO Business Service Center (OHIO BSC). During the formation of the OHIO BSC, Beth consulted on the design and development of our service request forms. She continued to support the OHIO BSC by creating an application with our partners in OIT that facilitates the ease of reviewing and adding account numbers for requestors using our forms. Beth pulls and provides data from various OHIO systems (e.g., Concur, BobcatBUY, etc.), as well as provides key analysis, to assist the OHIO BSC in baselining metrics for continuous process improvement efforts. We look forward to our continued collaboration with Beth to facilitate system enhancements and integrations for automation and efficiency gains.” -- Sylvia Mickunas
“Beth is one of those people who is a genius in her field. She’s incredibly bright and has a strong work ethic. I rely on Beth when I want to brainstorm ideas. She is creative and capable. I am in awe of how much she knows! I appreciate all she continues to do for the BSC whether it is pulling data, mocking up new ideas, or creating an app to facilitate account numbers in our ticketing system. She’s the best!” -- Heather Krugman
Beth Novak, Associate Professor; Interim Dean of Honors Tutorial College
“Beth was new to her Interim Dean position in Honors Tutorial College, while I was also new to working with them on budget and financial oversight. She has been incredibly patient and understanding while we have worked together to fill in any missing gaps that we may have had. Beth is a fantastically collaborative partner, providing feedback where needed, and is committed to helping the BSC reach its full potential.” -- Moriah Hudspeth
“Dean Novak has demonstrated exceptional leadership in the BSC's partnership with HTC. She always makes the time to provide us with detailed feedback for process improvement and always does it with a collaborative spirit. Additionally, she works with her faculty, staff, and students to enable them to make the best use of our services, too.” -- Kelly Broughton
Gwyn Scott, Associate Vice President for Auxiliaries
“I have worked with Gwyn and Culinary Services for nearly 10 years!! They are hardworking, knowledgeable, and amazing stewards for Ohio University. Gwyn and her team work extremely hard running a very complex operation. They are presented challenges and obstacles every day that they maneuver with grace. Thank you, Gwyn and Culinary Services, for allowing me to be your Finance Director and friend.“ -- Mindy Colburn
“Gwyn’s change management leadership in the BSC partnership with her units was critical to our forward momentum.” -- Kelly Broughton
“Gwyn has been a fantastic partner to the BSC. She provided leadership as we brought new areas onboard. She has a way of providing feedback that is always helpful and her collegial personality makes you WANT to always make her happy! I’m incredibly grateful for her partnership and friendship.” -- Heather Krugman
Previously Recognized Premier Employee Partners
Ruth Blickle, Administrative Services Associate, University College Dean's Office
“Ruth Blickle has entered more than 65 requests, used our live chat feature 11 times, and consistently provides quality feedback that helps us improve.” -- Kelly Broughton
“Ruth has shown a willingness to experiment and provide feedback that is second to none. She was our first live chat user and continues to use it today. Ruth could have chosen to be resistant to change, but instead she embraced new technology and thought about how these new processes could help with her unit’s operations. Thanks, Ruth, for your willingness to try new things and help refine the process.” -- Heather Krugman
Emily Chapman, Chief Finance & Administrative Officer, Scripps College of Communication
“Emily Chapman has been a great partner to work with during the Scripps transition to the BSC and ever since. She is responsive, understanding, and helpful no matter what the question or issue might be!” -- Ann Bennett
“Throughout our collaborative partnership, Emily’s contributions and feedback have had a substantial impact across the entire university. The pillars of our shared success are rooted in her commitment to excellent service and streamlining efficiencies university wide.” -- Kelsea Bolin
“Emily and Scripps were some of the BSC’s earliest adopters. Emily helped work with the service center early on to refine processes that could then be shared with other units across campus. We greatly appreciate her thoughtful contributions.” -- Heather Krugman
Jneanne Hacker, Executive Director of Housing & Residence Life, Division of Student Affairs
“Jneanne and the HRL staff have been amazing partners during the transition of the budget and transactional accounting processes to the BSC. They are always open to new ideas and process improvements. Their collaborative trusting approach allows for cross communication between both areas that has really laid groundwork for a long successful working relationship.” -- Mindy Colburn
“Jneanne's leadership during the transition of Housing & Residence Life to the BSC demonstrated compassion and conviction in support her staff while championing flexibility and a commitment to continuous improvement.” -- Kelly Broughton
“Jneanne’s flexibility and professionalism has been instrumental to effective change management. I greatly appreciate the insights she has shared and her passion for process improvement.” -- Heather Krugman
Cody Sigmon, IT Product Owner/IT Service Owner, Office of Information Technology
“Cody stepped into a new role after we had launched our pilot for our request intake platform (My Bobcat Business). He quickly came up to speed, coordinated all parties, and provided needed structure to our continued development of the platform and our working relationship with OIT. We have matured our relationship through open communication and feedback, which Cody fosters and facilitates extremely well. We appreciate all he does for the OHIO BSC, including brainstorming customer-focused solutions, and look forward to our continued partnership!” -- Sylvia Mickunas
“Cody's commitment to helping the BSC deliver premier customer service is foundational to our success.” -- Kelly Broughton
"Cody is inquisitive and always eager to learn!" -- Moriah Hudspeth
“Undertaking an initiative of this scale requires flexibility and skill. Cody has worked diligently to help the BSC accomplish its new ticketing system. Cody always comes to the table with an attitude of how we can make things better, and I greatly appreciate his contribution.” -- Heather Krugman
Eric Stinaff, Professor and Chair, Physics & Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences
“As chair of physics and astronomy, Dr. Stinaff is a frequent user of a variety of the BSC services - everything from purchasing goods and services to travel, PCard substantiation, and invoice submissions. He is always polite, considerate, and helpful.” -- Kelly Broughton
“Eric is setting an example for others on how to efficiently move the university’s purchasing efforts forward. He has been a great partner – willing to try new things, communicate potential issues and provide critical feedback regarding the process. I wish we had 100 Erics!” -- Heather Krugman