Carruthers History: Mountains of Paper

Hope they had some Sortkwik

If you ever feel buried in Workday transactions, emails, and Excel spreadsheets, just remember there was a time not so long ago when all of these things would have been physical paper piled up on your desk.  

Imagine: 

• Detailed and summary accounting reports used for monthly reconciliations were printed out on green and white tractor feed paper in one giant stack.  It would take two or three days for staff to separate the printouts (ripping them apart at their perforated edges) and stuff them in campus mail envelopes to be sent to schools and units.  
• Expense reports were also done on paper:  receipts painstakingly taped to blank paper and attached to itemized reports – all arrived at Carruthers Hall in an avalanche of messenger mail.  
• Inter-departmental transfers were handled by one staff member in Finance, who would spend her day working through heaps of them, stamping each one firmly as she finished it in a steady rhythm all day long.  

We’ve come a long way!  Although processes and technology have changed, the dedication of all those on various teams in Finance remains strong (just with fewer papercuts). 

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Thanks to Connie Alexander and Stacey Rittenhouse for sharing these memories.