Executive Sponsors

Executive Sponsors are select senior leaders who own an institutional transformation initiative and assume responsibility for daily decision-making, active championship, and cascading of decisions and information to all levels of the University. For Operational Excellence @ Illinois, Executive Sponsors oversee:

Clearly articulating the case for change and ensuring that it reflects institutional priorities and missions;
Defining precise goals and objectives that directly address institutional priorities;
Prioritizing and allocating resources to the initiative; and
Developing and enforcing reinforcement structures that promote future-state orientation and change implementation.

Executive Sponsors

Mike DeLorenzo, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations                                                                              
Vicky Gress, Acting Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Budget and Resource Planning

Project Management 

Leading the newly created Strategic Project Management Office in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations, the Executive Director for Project Management & Business Service Quality oversees university-wide initiatives that require project management, including Operational Excellence @ Illinois. 

Rebecca McNaught, Executive Director for Project Management & Business Service Quality 

Functional Design Teams (Detailed Design Phase)

Teams specific to the seven functional areas that will determine the precise, tactical details and steps needed to achieve the proposed high-level operating model. Their solutions will also address the Functional Opportunities surfaced by Work Teams from the initiative’s prior phases.

The Change Leadership Team consists of cross-functional representatives and communications and organizational change specialists who guide change leadership efforts related to Operational Excellence. The team:

Advises on and helps develop strategies and communications to keep the campus community engaged and informed
Informs potential trainings on change leadership, service excellence, and other topics
Collaborates with various leaders and groups across campus to ensure initiative progress.

CLT Members

HR Representatives
Tiy Goddard, Assistant Director, Employee Development and Learning
Jake MacGregor, Organizational Development and Training Coordinator
IT Representatives
James Quisenberry, Director of Student Affairs Technology
Tracy Smith, Deputy CIO for Innovation & Technology Strategy
Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing Representative
Katie Watson, Associate Director of Institutional Communications
Strategic Project Management Office (SPMO) Representatives
Rebecca McNaught, Executive Director for Project Management & Business Service Quality
Gabe Gibson, Senior Director, Collaborative Initiatives Planning

The Service Excellence Team consist of cross-functional representatives who will help ensure that all Op. Excellence initiatives maintain a culture of service and continue to work towards long-term process improvement. Team composition will vary based on availability and functional areas with active initiatives

The team:

Promotes campus engagement and socialization with cross-functional service excellence standards and practices
Performs process redesign work in collaboration with functional areas
Conducts focus groups to identify needs of end-users or customers to support process redesign
Collects metrics and data to track service quality

SET Members (SET is considering revisions to membership to align with team goals for 2023)

Team Lead: Rebecca McNaught, Executive Director for Project Management and Business Service Quality
SET Representatives [current contributors]
• Michael Chan, IT Architect
• Amy Hovious, Assistant Director of Campus Engagement & Innovation
• Libby Kacich, Assistant Dean for Marketing and Communications
• Jessica Mette, Associate Director, Illinois Human Resources
• Stephanie Haas, Director of Human Resources, Education Administration
• Angela Reggans, Assistant Director of Labor & Employee Relations, Illinois Human Resources
Margo Kiener, Labor & Employee Relations Consultant, Illinois Human Resources
SET Representatives [past contributors]

Task Force (Imagine, Decide, and Bridge Phases)

Prior Task Force

Andreas Cangellaris, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost
Mike DeLorenzo, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations
Scott Genung, Interim Chief Information Officer
Gabe Gibson, Senior Director of Collaborative Initiatives Planning
Vicky Gress, Acting Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Budget and Resource Planning
Deb Stone, Interim Senior Associate Chancellor for Human Resources (formerly)
Kraig Wagenecht, External Research Partnerships Senior Director
Paul Ellinger (on the Task Force before moving to a position at the University of Illinois System)

Executive Sponsors (Imagine, Decide, and Bridge Phases)

Prior Executive Sponsors

Vicky Gress, Acting Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Budget and Resource Planning
Kraig Wagenecht, External Research Partnerships Senior Director

Work Teams (Imagine and Decide Phases)

Teams comprised of a Team Lead and 10-15 cross-campus representatives specific to each of the five functional areas (see below) that advised on means to reach Operational Excellence @ Illinois goals. Team members participated in a series of live sessions to offer insights, raise concerns, and develop Functional Opportunities to support the ideal future state of administrative services at Illinois and achieve phase objectives.