Jan. 18, 2005

GW On The Move

Administrative Departments Begin the Migration to Facilities at the Virginia Campus

By Greg Licamele

Three administrative departments completed their moves from Foggy Bottom to the Virginia Campus last month, the first phase of an effort to efficiently utilize facilities at these campuses, Mount Vernon, and leased space in the metropolitan area.

Sixty positions from Payroll Services, Student Accounts, and Supply Chain now reside in Ashburn, VA. An additional 190 positions have been identified to relocate later this year as the Comptroller’s Office and ISS Administrative Applications move west to the 204,000 square-foot Building II. Louis Katz, executive vice president and treasurer, said additional departments also may be tapped for relocation.

“Effectively utilizing facilities on all of our campuses has been an ongoing part of the University’s strategic planning process,” said Katz. “These administrative relocations will free-up space on the Foggy Bottom Campus and allow GW to strategically locate a combination of administrative and academic functions on its Foggy Bottom and Virginia campuses. The space that is freed-up at Foggy Bottom will be used to accommodate academic programs and to house ‘service centers’ that provide services to students, faculty, and staff.”

Jim Montgomery, manager of Payroll Services, welcomed the move for his department. “The work environment is great. There’s more space, we’re better organized, and we have more room for payroll processing. The individual work spaces are more conducive, as well.”

Montgomery said that unlike the Foggy Bottom office that was located on M Street, he’s been able to group his employees together based on their positions.

“We had input into the design and how the space would be set-up,” Montgomery said. “We put similar jobs together. At Foggy Bottom, we were together, but it was a compact space not organized by working groups.”

Payroll Services maintains a customer service office in the Academic Center, which distributes paychecks and collects mail.

Alicia O’Neil, the relocation’s project manager, said the move to the Virginia Campus has proceeded smoothly and employees have received information about the relocation process, department plans and Loudoun County on the movetoloudoun.gwu.edu Web site.

“In relocating employee positions to the Virginia Campus, we have worked hard to get information to employees through the Web site, as well as to increase the services offered,” O’Neil said.

A free commuter shuttle service began Dec. 20 from the West Falls Church Metro station with four morning departures from Metro and five evening departures from the Virginia Campus. O’Neil said the shuttle service was provided to ease the transition for employees who want to use public transportation. Staff members also may drive and park for free on campus. The Foggy Bottom-Virginia Campus Shuttle continues to run from Gelman Library, though schedule changes are being considered.

In addition to the shuttle services, O’Neil said the University is looking into video conferencing solutions between campuses to link departments with their colleagues and clients.

“We have looked at what other organizations have done when they’ve moved from urban areas to more suburban areas,” O’Neil said. “For a lot of those companies, it has been similar types of services to ease the transition — shuttle services, communication systems, and providing on-site amenities.”

Opening a cafeteria in Building II is being explored to meet the appetites of employees who might want to stay on campus since eateries are not within walking distance. The cafeteria is among other ways GW is trying to add services to the Virginia Campus as more employees work there. Approximately 185 staff positions are currently located at the Virginia Campus. By the end of the calendar year, this number may increase to roughly 375.

“From an employee-life and culture perspective, there’s an effort to both integrate and replicate training programs and social events that have traditionally been held on Foggy Bottom,” O’Neil said. “As the population grows at the Virginia Campus, I think the culture of the campus will change to match its new population.”

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu

Related Link

Virginia Campus Relocation