<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] lab woes</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On Sep 22, 2005, at 2:42 PM, = Wimblees@aol.com wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE>Procuring equipment is the responsi= bility of the department chair. </BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE> In our department, procuring equipment is the responsibility of the person = needing it. The department chair does sign off on the purchase request, but = the research concerning what will be bought and from where is done by the pe= rson who identifies the need, and perhaps more or less controls a particular= account (orchestra director orders parts, choral director orders risers, ob= oe prof orders reed making equipment and supplies). If there is money, and t= he request seems reasonable, the chair approves it. And then the actual purc= hase process is done by the requestor with the help of the department accoun= tant (in most cases by phone, using a “P-card”). The notion that= the chair has the time, knowledge and ability to take all that on is, frank= ly, absurd. There isn’t an anonymous “them” who will handl= e the pesky details of life. Unless you’re rich and can afford a perso= nal assistant <g>. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico </BODY> </HTML>