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OE Weekly Update – 5/8/20

Good afternoon, I am pleased to announce that the Operational Excellence Data Use and Literacy project began its pilot phase this week. The pilot group is testing two new resources developed for improved data use and literacy at UNC: a “one-stop-shop” portal for existing University-level dashboards, and a new dashboard for salary data. This is our team’s first fully … Read more


OE Weekly Email – 5/1/20

Good afternoon, As we begin a new month, I want to update you all on some of our ongoing work. Our Operational Excellence transformation managers, Candace Reynolds, Jason Derrick, and Mieke Lynch, continue to move forward on these projects with the help of their incredible campus partners. Data Use & … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 4/24/20

Good afternoon, Since Operational Excellence began in fall 2018, our relationships with schools and units across campus have driven early wins, sustained change, and a new way of doing business at Carolina. These relationships have been especially important as we navigate the current situation with COVID-19. This week, I want … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 4/17/20

Good afternoon, I hope you all are doing well. The Operational Excellence Steering Committee is often a source of ideas for our team regarding new opportunities for us to engage with campus, as well as a space in which we can learn from our colleagues. Though we have decided to … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 4/3/20

Good afternoon, As we wrap up our third week of working remotely, I want to give a brief look at some of the ways Operational Excellence is currently engaged with campus. On Monday, I had the opportunity to speak to the Faculty Executive Committee about the work that our team … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 3/27/20

Good afternoon, You may have noticed that I did not send my normal weekly update last Friday. Considering the many challenges that Carolina is facing right now, my updates may be less frequent and have a different focus than the ones you usually receive from us. However, even though you … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 3/13/20

Good afternoon all, As we work through the challenges of the next few weeks, Operational Excellence will continue operating to support the mission of the University, with some adjustments. The OE team has developed a plan together for how we can best work on-site and remotely, including daily check-ins and … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 3/6/20

Good afternoon, As students leave for spring break, the Operational Excellence team continues to make progress on our ongoing efforts in addition to preparations for new engagements around campus. This week, I want to bring you updates on two of our current initiatives – Data Use and Literacy: The design … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 2/28/20

Good afternoon, At the Office of Sponsored Research Town Hall this afternoon, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research David Paul announced the rollout of two solutions for the Carolina research community: the Engagement Partnership and Research Playbooks. These solutions were developed by our Research Design Team to help streamline the award … Read more


OE Weekly Update 2/21/20

Good afternoon, A few weeks ago, I introduced the concept of lean thinking with the stick figure cartoon in my weekly update. I encouraged you all to think about a process and ask yourself, “Why is the glass twice as big as it should be?” In line with our goal … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 2/14/20

Good afternoon,   Last week, the Operational Excellence Steering Committee held our first meeting of the calendar year. It is always inspiring to come together with this group, and I am grateful for both the returning and new faces.   Our meeting focused on updates regarding our three current initiatives, Research, Data Use & Literacy, and Student Registration, as … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 2/17/20

Good afternoon, As many of you know, last Friday, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Provost Bob Blouin launched Carolina Next: Innovations for Public Good, Carolina’s new comprehensive strategic plan. You can read their announcement here. Carolina Next is composed of strategic initiatives that focus on the opportunities where the University can create change … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 1/31/20

Good afternoon, I mentioned in my email last week that the Operational Excellence team was planning on attending the UNC Health Care Lean Six Sigma Blue Belt training. We enjoyed learning more about lean methodology and how to plan for successful transformations. So, what is lean thinking? The cartoon below … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 1/24/20

Good afternoon, I want to start this week’s update with a big thank you to everyone who has been involved with the Early Impact work. Though Operational Excellence has officially wrapped up our part in both the Hiring and Procurement initiatives, we will continue to follow and celebrate future progress … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 1/17/20

Good afternoon, I hope you all got a chance to get outside this week before the temperatures dropped again! The Operational Excellence team has been focused on advancing initiative goals while building capacity to facilitate transformations around campus. We got the chance to attend a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 1/10/20

Good afternoon, I hope you all have had a smooth transition back to work after the holiday break. In our first update email of 2020, I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for the incredible support you have shown Operational Excellence over the past year and highlight … Read more


2019 Operational Excellence Video


OE Weekly Update – 12/13/19

Good afternoon, This will be our last update of 2019. As we close out the year we are continuing to work on the following initiatives: Student Registration: After evaluating registration models used by peer institutions, the Student Registration Design Team began work on re-designing the registration model to meet the … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 12/6/19

Good afternoon, As we head into the last month of 2019, we are continuing to work on the following initiatives: Student Registration: This week, the Student Registration team did a comparative analysis of registration models used by several peer institutions. The team then discussed the impact and feasibility of implementing … Read more


OE Weekly Update – 11/22/19

Good afternoon, Hope you’re enjoying this beautiful fall weather. We have a short update for this week as we head into Thanksgiving. The Student Registration and Data Use & Literacy design teams continued to meet to refine the scope of their work. During the workshops, participants collaboratively share and prioritize … Read more