The Eberly College of Science Finance Office
The Eberly College of Science Finance Office is committed to providing outstanding customer service and financial support to the college while maintaining fiscal responsibility. Our staff values continuous improvement in all financial activities as well as integrity and teamwork.
Communicating with the Eberly FPAC Hub Team
Beginning February 24, all financial transaction initiation questions will be received through a new email: EberlyFPAC@psu.edu. This email will be monitored by financial coordinators and responded to, or escalated to another FPAC team member as needed.
All financial transaction initiation questions or questions related to a financial transaction that has been initiated but needs to be followed up on should be directed to EberlyFPAC@psu.edu.
Emails sent directly to a team member related to a Finance OST transaction, process, or policy will be replied to with a request to use this new shared email address.
To initiate your transaction, please submit a ServiceNow request.
We are responsible for
- maintaining budget and expenditure control for the college in accordance with University and college policies and procedures;
- cash controls and cash services (depositing, petty cash);
- assisting the dean and department heads in administering their accounts;
- payroll processing;
- matching-funds tracking and reporting;
- provide resources and training for departmental staff on financial systems;
- college grant-in-aid allocation;
- approval paths/workflow;
- purchasing card (pcard) reconciler training; and
- support for all Eberly College of Science departments.
Eberly FPAC Hub Team
| Name | Location |
|---|---|
| Alba Congiu, Strategic Finance Partner | 508 Thomas Building |
| Christine Foster, Financial Planning Analyst | 510 Thomas Building |
| Zsuzsanna Kiss, Financial Planning Analyst | 510 Thomas Building |
| Chris Onder, Financial Planning Analyst | 509 Thomas Building |
| David Payne, Financial Planning Analyst | 520 Thomas Building |
| Natalie Summerson, Financial Planning Analyst | 510 Thomas Building |
| Richard Taylor, Financial Planning Analyst | 510 Thomas Building |
| Natasha Urbanik, Financial Planning Analyst | 510 Thomas Building |
| Mindy Vail, Financial Coordinator | 510 Thomas Building |
| Sarah Bei Wang, Financial Planning Analyst | 510 Thomas Building |
For Finance Office policies, forms, and other useful information, log in to the Finance Office SharePoint website (Penn State Access Account login required).
More Information
FN18 University Approval Authorization Policy
Workflow and Approval Resources
Penn State Knowledge Base article on approval processes (must log in with Penn State ID to access)
Labor distribution (LD) replans will still need to be initiated within a department, a center, or the research office, with entry into SIMBA being completed by the Eberly College FPAC team. The Eberly College's financial planning analysts will process all annual LDs, new LDs, and redistributions (replans).
A template will be provided by the Eberly College FPAC team to each area in the college, which will need to be completed by the unit when they have changes. The template will be submitted to the Eberly College FPAC team for processing via a ServiceNow request. The final template and process are still under review by the Finance OST team.
Hypercare Support Period to Begin February 24
“Hypercare” support will be available for all faculty and staff beginning on February 24 for at least 90 days, designed to rapidly address issues, answer questions, and provide guidance in real time as the new operating model launches.
This hypercare period will support business continuity and build user confidence as the University transitions to new financial workflows. The hypercare support period will include
- dedicated support teams to triage and resolve issues quickly;
- clear pathways for employees in units to seek help;
- clear escalation paths available to units for urgent or complex needs;
- daily coordination across Finance OST leadership, Information Technology, and hub teams; and
- ongoing communications to share updates, guidance, and known issues.
During the hypercare support period, again beginning February 24, please use EberlyFPAC@psu.edu to contact the Eberly College FPAC team for all support communications.
Updates from the Finance OST Leadership Team
The University's Finance OST leadership team is partnering closely with the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research (OSVPR) to streamline and enhance the research transaction process. By leveraging the expertise of directors of research administration, the leadership team is making significant strides in three key areas:
- Standardizing transaction features—we have identified several dozen critical features unique to research transactions. This list serves as the foundation for new training modules, equipping hub employees to identify and process these transactions with precision.
- Mitigating risk via general ledger (GL) coding—to support compliance, we have established a definitive list of high-risk GL codes. Any transaction flagged with these codes will now trigger a specialized research approval workflow at the hub level.
- Enhanced training resources—OSVPR has developed a comprehensive suite of reference sheets and educational materials. These high-value resources are now fully integrated into our hub employee training curriculum.