We're glad you're here to learn more about this pilot!
Mission Statement
Our mission is to perform the business behind the university’s mission—providing exceptional,
solutions-oriented financial, employment, purchasing, and budgeting support that enables
departments to focus on achieving excellence through service to our students and the
greater community.
Testimonials
We have really appreciated the support from the Business Center as we've worked through
this transition. The team has taken the time to explain the new processes and answer
our questions, which has made a real difference. Even though the Business Center is
still new, we've already seen improvements in the timeliness of invoice processing
and payments, and we're excited to see that progress continue.
Amanda James, VP for Enrollment Management and Marketing
Working with the Business Center has been a wonderful experience so far. Their partnership
has helped lift the administrative burden for things like purchasing and faculty pay,
allowing me to spend more time focused on what matters most.
I truly appreciate their responsiveness, expertise, and willingness to collaborate.
I'm looking forward to continuing to refine our processes together, making our workflows
even more efficient.
Melissa McCartney, Dean, School of Graduate, Continuing & Online Education
The Business Center reflects Winthrop's broader commitment to operational excellence,
and we have already seen the benefits of its early impact. Centralizing our finance
and HR functions is streamlining processes that allows our staff to focus on what
matters most — supporting our student-athletes and coaches. Kirsten Morales' leadership
has been exceptional; in a short time, she has assembled a high-performing team that
understands the unique needs of Athletics. Where our department once relied on a single
person to oversee these functions, Athletics now benefits from an entire team of experts,
giving our coaches greater access to the resources and support they need. This shift
is positioning our department to be more agile, and we are building a stronger foundation
for the future.
Chuck Rey, Athletic Director
I’m very excited to be working in the new Business Center and have already learned
so much about my assigned areas. I think we can really do a lot to improve timeliness
and accuracy while taking some of the weight off of the departments we serve. The
team is excited for our role in assisting campus with a variety of financial and human
resources tasks.
Rachel "Rae" Glover, Business Center Finance Associate
A Business Center is a service model widely used in higher education and other industries
to bring routine tasks into a single, coordinated service point. It emphasizes consistent
communication, high‑quality execution, and continuous improvement in business processes.
By centralizing expertise, the model helps campus units receive timely, accurate support
for essential transactions and related paperwork.
By shifting transactional tasks to a dedicated team of trained specialists, units
will have more time to focus on their core academic, operational, and strategic work.
This pilot center represents a centralized approach to providing exceptional procurement, travel, hiring, and financial management services for Athletics, CVPA, and select areas of Administration.
No. The Business Center initiative does not include a target for budget reductions
and is not designed as a workforce‑reduction strategy. As processes become more efficient,
the University anticipates that staffing needs for transactional work may stabilize
and that future growth can be managed more effectively.
The intent of the Business Center model is not to diminish roles but to better align
responsibilities across the University. Functions such as Purchasing, Travel, Employment
processing, and financial transactions will be centralized to improve consistency
and efficiency.
For employees who currently perform these duties as part of a broader role, this shift
creates an opportunity to focus more fully on the specialized, mission‑driven work
of their unit—areas where their expertise provides the greatest value.
We are in a temporary location awaiting a permanent home. Regardless, a key part of
the pilot is demonstrating that a Business Center can operate effectively regardless
of its physical location. Online tools for requesting support are robust, designed
to route inquiries to the appropriate specialists, and capable of meeting most needs
remotely.
The team reports to the Finance office. They are a team of 8 Winthrop employees, comprised
of one Business Center Manager, one Budget & Finance Analyst, four Finance Associates,
and two Employment Associates. Check out their bios!
Preparation and distribution of routine budget reports, including operating budgets,
course fee funds, travel budgets, revenue funds, and non-scholarship foundation funds
Setup, training, and support for Banner's My Finance functionality in Wingspan
Ad hoc budget analysis and financial research
Financial data extraction and reporting support
Budget development, forecasting, and planning assistance
No. No one in the business center makes decisions on behalf of the departments. Business
Center employees remove the burden of process and paperwork so you can focus on your
role in the University's mission.
No. As long as your purchase is approved at the appropriate level, the role of the
Finance Associate is to know the proper purchasing channels and available budget options
to make your purchase happen smoothly.
Because the business center can make purchases on your behalf, some individuals with
limited use will not need to retain their P-Card. This will be considered on a case-by-case
basis with department leadership.
We recommend emailing requests and questions to businesscenter1@winthrop.edu and allowing the business center to escalate to the Procurement Office, if necessary.
