The Administrative Advisory Committee, a group formed in 1988 to address issues and concerns that are common to administrative officers (AOs), has announced five new members and a new chair.
The AAC is composed of 13 members--10 administrative officers from departments, labs and centers, and three administrators from central administrative offices. Its missions are:
- To act as a liaison between the central administration and departments to discuss issues and recommend solutions.
- To serve as a resource for individuals or organizations in the development of new initiatives or policies.
- To provide training and networking opportunities to the administrative community at MIT through the AAC Forum series, which this year features discussions on topics such as reengineering, managing change, and access and disability.
The newest members are Roni Dudley-Cowans, AO, Division of Toxicology; Susan Guralnik, AO, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Thomas Mullins, assistant director for administration and finance, Information Systems; John Politano, AO, Center for Space Research; and Robert Slauzis, budget officer, Office of Budget and Financial Planning. Judith Stein, AO for the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and the Anthropology Program, is the current chair of the AAC, which reports to Senior Vice President William R. Dickson. She replaces Rebecca Chamberlain, AO for the Department of Architecture.
Known for the Forum Series, the AAC also meets with individuals and organizations across the Institute. The group has met with representatives from Purchasing, Campus Police, Information Systems and numerous reengineering teams. AAC members believe that proposed procedures that are reviewed by end users (such as themselves) during their development are more smoothly implemented.
In 1994 the AAC established an administrative e-mail list called AO Query as a vehicle to solicit advice and disseminate information to the administrative officer community. AO Query has been used by Physical Plant, Campus Police, the Office of Sponsored Programs and people posting job notifications, soliciting advice or selling equipment. The list is geared for administrative afficers but is open to anyone at the Institute interested in administrative issues. For more information or guidelines on posting to AO Query, contact Paulette Mosley at .
Continuing members of the AAC are: Laura Capone, project administrator, FAST Student Services; Agnes Chow, administrative officer, Center for Technology, Policy and Industrial Development; Robin Elices, administrative officer, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Marc Jones, administrative officer, Department of Chemistry; Ms. Mosley, AO, Operations Research Center; Elizabeth Ogar, director for Finance and Administration, Resource Development; and Pat White, financial administrator, Sloan School.
AAC members welcome comments and questions on any aspect of administrative life at MIT. Please contact any member of the AAC, or to reach the committee as a whole, send e-mail to .
In addition to messages on AAC-AOQuery, updates of the committees activities can also be found on the AAC home page at .
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 23, 1996.
