- Associate Controller, Chief Procurement Officer

One of my main objectives for the upcoming year is to evolve our supplier relationships beyond the traditional sell/buy structure. The reality is that we haven’t historically engaged our vendors beyond supplying us with “stuff” to support our operational and research needs. While this is the standard approach throughout higher education and industry procurement, it misses the opportunity to connect supplier partners to our mission, which can serve as a key differentiator, particularly during a constrained supply chain. This came to light during COVID when we were struggling to purchase complex equipment and supplies necessary to support our robust testing program, as well as the PPE needed to keep our onsite staff safe. Connecting suppliers to the broader purpose beyond the equipment and supplies allowed them to share in our success, which served as motivation to prioritize and support UC San Diego throughout the pandemic.

As part of the supplier selection/request for proposal (RFP) process, we’ve begun to incorporate aspects beyond price into the evaluation, to ensure we’re selecting partners who truly desire to invest in the mission and culture of the University. This includes aspects such as EDI, sustainability, small business, and social responsibility, in addition to concrete investment opportunities such as scholarships, fellowships, and employment opportunities for our students. These factors should be used as key differentiators in the supplier selection process, to ensure an RFP results in the potential for a sustained partnership as opposed to a one-off purchase.

This approach is applicable to every supplier and service needed to support UC San Diego's mission and has allowed us to connect our supplier partners and the campus community in a more meaningful way. We will continue to build on this to generate outcomes that provide benefits to the campus community beyond the obvious and traditional aspects of the purchasing process.

This year, we are debuting a new IPPS Quarterly series, highlighting IPPSters who have been vital to our success as an organization. For our first IPPSter Spotlight, we had the opportunity to talk to Scottie Profitt, who just celebrated his 30th year with the university.

Scottie Profitt started his UC San Diego career at the age of 18, working as a Storehouse Worker at what is now Trade Street. From there he went on to manage the SIO Storehouse, where he would go on to work for 10 years. During his time at SIO, Scottie took full advantage of his work location and regularly enjoyed surf sessions at Scripps Beach. But all good things come to an end and in 2004, the university sunset the SIO Storehouse. Fortunately, Scottie was able to leverage his experience handling hazardous materials at SIO and found a job at Trade Street managing outbound shipping.

For the past 18 years, Scottie has worked at Trade Street, where he has been integral to the establishment of the Hazardous Materials Team. He is currently the Associate Director of Logistics and Dangerous Goods, where he ensures that all chemical, biological, radioactive, and physical materials are properly stored, moved, and disposed of. He and his team have done a tremendous job preventing hazmat accidents and have saved the university from countless six-figure fines for improper shipping and disposal.

Outside of work, Scottie spends much of his time with his son, Banyan, who documents their family adventures on his YouTube vlog, Banyan's Adventures. Recently, in addition to celebrating 30 years of service at UC San Diego, Scottie has also celebrated his 30th anniversary with his wife. He cited his marriage as a major reason for taking his first UC San Diego job saying, “it is what made me get a real job instead of working at a convenience store.”

We cannot stress enough how grateful we are for all that Scottie and his team do to keep our campus safe.

The Campus Partnership Program (CPP) is pleased to announce the success of their collaborative efforts to have the Nonbinary gender option added to UC San Diego Farmers Insurance Choice quoting websites*. This change applies to all eight UC campuses participating in the Farmers program and all Farmers Choice partner sites servicing U.S. states that offer ‘X’ gender options on licenses and state IDs. Big shoutouts to Mary Wong, UC San Diego Program & Partner Relations Manager, and Shaun Travers, UC San Diego LGBT Resource Center Director, for their efforts and contributions that drove this positive change!

*UC San Diego employees can save up to 22% from Farmers GroupSelect^SM by getting an online quote or calling 1-866-700-3113.

Ashlyn has taken on a new role within the Client Experience Management team. Keeping tied in with clients, she will develop, deliver, and maintain a client experience plan to ensure campus and its suppliers have the support they need to interact successfully with IPPS. This includes training offerings, client support via channels such as Services & Support, and communication strategies.

Steven has taken a new role on the IPPS Technology Program Management team. He will be providing technical support on the various IPPS applications related to Payee Management and Travel & Expense. In addition to providing day-to-day support for those teams, Steven is working on improving our systems to enhance the experience for IPPS users, campus clients, and payees.