I Remember Laurier: Reflections by Retirees on Life at WLU

16. Procurement: A New Day

In february 1976 a new department came into being at Wilfrid Laurier University. In an upstairs back bedroom of a house on Bricker Street, over offices of the Physical Plant and Planning Department , a new purchasing department became a reality. I was in the purchasing department at the University of Waterloo at the time, but an ad for a buyer at WLU caught my eye. I applied and got the job, reporting to Cliff Bilyea, Business and Personnel Manager. His secretary, Elizabeth Miller, who also did the typing for the whole department , was terrific in helping me to become oriented to the university environment. I soon discovered that, like the times, things at this “new” university were a-changin’. And through the new department where I was now situated I became very involved in many of those changes. After arranging for office furniture, a telephone, and dictating and copying equipment,I settled in to establish a presence on campus through meetings with individuals and departments, to determine their needs and provide purchasing advice and assistance when required. Purchasing policies and procedures needed attention, and I set to work on some new ones.It was a very complex process—interviewing and consulting with WLU departments, purchasing departments at other universities, and government agencies. The result was a “Purchasing Bible,” as it were. Many meetings with WLU departments followed to acquaint them with the new procedures and to clarify any concerns about them. Many departments were glad to relinquish the buying chore and Chapter 16  Procurement: A New Day bob reichard 86 concentrate on their prime purposes, whether teaching and research or service functions. Others, however, saw it as an intrusion into an area where they had been totally in charge. Over time, most were won over and saw the benefits of a centralized procurement system. Another“new”was to do something about the hodge-podge of campus furnishings. In consultation with departments and furniture manufacturers , a standard for office furniture and equipment was established that over time did away with the hodgepodge and also realized cost savings by purchasing in volume. Technology was ever changing, and when managing the telephone system was added to our department’s responsibility it shortly became apparent that the old “cord and plug” system had to be upgraded to digital. The contract was awarded to Musitron Communications. It was a major project, as new cable had to be installed to accommodate the new equipment without disturbing the day-to-day operations of the university. A new purchasing strategy called system contracting was introduced for purchase of plumbing, electrical, janitorial, and stationery supplies. It allowed university departments to order directly from designated suppliers. As the workload grew, new staff were required. Lilly Amos was added as departmental secretary, relieving Elizabeth Miller of that responsibility . Other new staff in that position over the years were Laurie Royce, Marylou Shagena, Brenda Donelle, and Anita Moore. Further departmental growth required the addition of a buyer, Karin Tamm, and then, later, Jennifer Kohli as assistant buyer.After some years, Karin moved on to FedEx and Marion Barnaby was hired as her replacement. Marion’s start at the university was not without surprise, as a few weeks after her hiring she announced something quite new: she was expecting, which I believe was as much a shock to her and her husband,Wayne, as it was to me. However, not long after the new arrival, she was back at work. Still another new question landed in our department: How to keep track of all the capital equipment in the many departments at this evergrowing university? John Banikoff was hired on a one-year contract to implement a capital-equipment inventory-control system to identify, record,and keep track of all that equipment.This was right up John’s alley, as this had been his occupation before he retired. The process, which bob reichard 87 took slightly more than a year, greatly simplified the tracking of the equipment. Two characters—a term I use advisedly—with whom I had daily contact were Joe Wey of Janitorial Services and Grounds and Gerry Donelle in Shipping and Receiving. Joe looked after all of the moving on campus and was of great assistance to our department in getting furniture and other goods to the right place at the right time. Gerry was responsible for getting all the goods received by the university to the departments...