ABA NEWS

Students Learn "How to Win at Life"

In March, Student Financial Services (SFSC), with volunteers from Accounting Services and other campus departments, held a "How to Win at Life" event in the University Union with the goal of increasing the financial literacy of participating students.

Students were challenged to see if they could "win at life" through a fun, educational game to gain a realistic picture of what their financial life after graduation might look like. The event involved students rotating through various stations, each requiring decisions - life choices and/or monetary obligations - that have financial impacts.

At the final station, students established a budget using actual projected income for their anticipated career along with living expenses, giving them a realistic picture of their future financial well-being. Would they come out on top with a remaining balance, or would their choices leave them in debt?

SFSC staff was on hand, assisting students with registration, explaining the process, and answering questions. Accounting Services staff worked several of the tables, helping students determine their anticipated monthly expenses and taxable income.

"Taxes were shocking to the students," said Gina Curry, interim associate vice president of Financial Services. "Many students wanted to go through again to see if they could change the results."

The process involved multiple stations and an "unplanned event" wheel, which often caused a loss of from $50 to $600. The events represented an emergency situation that would require the commitment of funds. Stations like these helped enforce the real-life aspect of the event. "It made them realize that they may have to continue to make tough financial choices after college," said Curry.

Several students shared remarks about the event: "This game was a real eye opener." "This game helped me become more aware of how to spend money." "I lost the first time, but I went around again and won!"

Over 200 attendees participated in the exercise, with some students playing twice, to improve their final outcomes. Plans are in place to continue events like these for both the fall and spring semesters, with the next one scheduled for October 26, 2015!

This is one of the ways in which ABA is helping to advance the goals of Sac State’s Graduation Initiative. For though the exercise was intended to provide a sense of future possibilities and challenges, it was also valuable to students who are managing their finances to stay enrolled.

ABA Celebrates Alumni Month

It’s a Sac State tradition to celebrate the University’s alums during the month of April. This year, during the first week of April, over half of ABA’s staff alums came out show their support, participating in a group photo near the Guy West Bridge.

In ABA, over 60 staff members are Sac State grads, holding degrees that range from bachelors’ and masters’ to doctorates. And more than 30 of them showed up for the celebratory photo.

These division alumni are lucky enough to put their degrees to work on behalf of the University. Stephen Scalley is a great example. With a BS in Business Administration (Accountancy), he is the University's GAAP coordinator, supervising all University financial reporting - some 144 schedules in all. "It is very rewarding to apply my knowledge and experience to the entity that provided me with the education to reach my current status - I just love it!"

Each and every ABA alumni contributes to the goals of ABA and the University in his/her own unique way, but the commonality among them is a distinctive understanding of the student experience and a powerful dedication to make the University the best it can be.

These grads complement a workforce, over 300 strong, with degrees and professional accreditations from across the CSU as well as other institutes of higher learning. To see all of ABA's alums, click here.

 

Facilities Improve Over Winter Break

Over the winter intercession, while many employees were enjoying time with friends and family away from work, Facilities Management staff professionals were here at work and busy improving the campus is several key areas.

According to Victor Takahashi, director of Planning, Design & Construction, "They were all improvements to facilities coming from a variety of funding sources, serving a variety of stakeholders within the University."

Multiple improvements were completed, with a positive impact for students, faculty and staff. The projects included:

• River Front Center (entry glass doors replaced)
• Library lower level renovation and carpet installation
• Sacramento Hall carpet installation and restroom renovations
• Humboldt Hall heat exchange improvements
• Sequoia hall lab retrofits
• El Dorado hall demolition
• Smart Classroom installations in Alpine Hall 1, Brighton Hall 2
• Broad Athletic Facility HVAC replacement
• Central Plant modifications to silence noise from steam release

We are proud of our hard working Facilities Management team that helped take these projects from proposal to a completed task. For more information, view a PowerPoint of the before and after photos here.

Speaker Series Features Kings' VP

On March 18, 2015, ABA welcomed Kunal Merchant to the campus as part of the most recent installation of the ABA Speaker Series.

Merchant is the Sacramento Kings' vice president of Strategic Initiatives. In this capacity, he oversees a portfolio of top strategic, political and community initiatives for the Kings, with a special focus on advancing progress on the new downtown entertainment and sports center scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.

During the event, Merchant discussed the efforts being made by the Sacramento Kings, as well as partners in the city of Sacramento, to deliver a premier sports and entertainment complex.

Merchant talked about delivering on their promise as a central theme. Eighty percent of the $340 million going into the construction of the new downtown arena has been sourced to contracts and businesses in the greater Sacramento region, which will help provide jobs to those in the community. In addition, the new complex will meet LEED Gold certification, and feature solar panels that span the entire roof, and a forward-thinking design which will allow natural heating and cooling of the building.

Merchant helped explain to all in attendance, including Sacramento State faculty, staff and students, that the complex will serve as much more than just the home of the Kings, but will host a variety of music and entertainment events, and be surrounded by 1.5 million square feet dedicated to retail, office, and hospitality and service industries.

ABA thanks Merchant for sharing his insights and details about the project with the campus.
View the official flier from this event.

Orientation Resources Welcome New Staff

In February, ABA's office of Strategic Planning & Quality Improvement completed a strategic project of their own: producing a new staff orientation folder and website, intended to provide helpful resources to new ABA employees.

The new staff orientation folder consists of documents and resources to help introduce new employees to ABA. Included in the folder are organizational charts, messages from the vice president/CFO, a copy of the most recent newsletter and annual report, as well as ABA’s strategic plan and goals.

The new website, available here, includes the same resources for new employees. The folder is now available by request. Please submit a request to SPQI atstiffler@csus.edu or call 916-278-2857.

A special note to managers: as your new employees use these tools, we would love to have your feedback on their effectiveness, and will continue to accept suggestions for improvement.  

Reprographics Supports Athletics

In the shadow of March Madness, Sacramento State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams were setting records of their own with their excellent play on the court.

The men’s team had their best record since joining Division I in 1991 with a record of 21-12, while the women’s team made their first postseason run in school history, making it to the sweet 16. To show support for these accomplishments, Intercollegiate Athletics partnered with ABA’s Reprographics Services to create congratulatory signs now displayed near the Guy West Bridge.

“The banners were produced and displayed as a thank you to the teams and as a celebration of the historic season both teams had,” said supervisor of Reprographics Brian Geimer. “Reprographics produced the banners in collaboration with Athletics and Student Affairs.” The banners were produced using Reprographics’ new HP L360 latex printer on a 10 ounce vinyl material suitable for indoor and outdoor use. “The ability to use latex-based inks has opened up a wide variety of materials we can now print on,” said Geimer. “This printer/ink combination was acquired to further enhance the product line that we already offered with our aqueous ink printer.”

Reprographics plays a major role in supporting student athletics, producing banners, fliers, posters, and other promotional pieces. These materials encourage the campus community, and the greater Sacramento community, to get involved and participate in supporting collegiate athletics. “I would hope the general public/students appreciate and celebrate the basketball teams' achievements, but I know [the athletes] are very grateful for the community support that has turned out this year.”

These services and many others are available to all University related departments. If the information cannot be found on the website, www.csus.edu/repro, the campus is welcome to contact Reprographics at x86198 or at reprographics@csus.edu.

New Paint/Phone Number for Police

The Sacramento State Police Department building recently underwent exterior upgrades, Including exterior painting and light-up signage. The changes help make the building more prominent and easy to locate by the campus community.

"I think our new look is important to the campus community because, in case of emergency, they know exactly where to find us. You cannot miss the signage when it’s lit at night," said Executive Assistant to the Chief of Police Serena Fuson. Police Chief Mark Iwasa agreed, explaining how the building has been overlooked in the past: "There have been at least two situations in the past where a victim has passed by our department headquarters unable to locate it."

A new coat of paint isn't the only change for the Police Department, which also has a new, easy to remember, phone number. The previous number (916)278-6851 has been replaced with (916)278-6000. The old number is still in working order, but the Police Department encourages everyone to begin using the new number.