Julie Wiksten has been named the new associate vice president for operational excellence for the Operational Excellence for the Second Century (OE2C) project, SMU announced Thursday.

Wiksten will oversee committees and the work being done in the OE2C project and will work with OE2C project coordinators Bill Detwiler and Julie Forrester.

“We are delighted that Julie has agreed to take on this important new role with OE2C,” SMU Provost Paul Ludden said in a press release. “Her wide-ranging experience, strong leadership capabilities and long-term dedication to SMU will help ensure the success of the OE2C project, which is critical to the future of the University.”

Prior to her appointment, Wiksten served as the vice president for campus services and oversaw the SMU bookstore, dining, facility, mail and copy, parking and ID card and conference services, McFarlin Auditorium and the SMU Faculty Club and Vending.

Wiksten is a graduate of SMU and has worked on campus since 1978. During these years she chaired and served on many committees and task forces. She currently serves as co-chairperson of the Faculty and Staff Committee for SMU Unbridled: The Second Century Campaign and is a member of the Centennial University Committee.

“As someone with deep roots at SMU, I am honored to serve our community in this new capacity,” Wiksten said in a press release.

The OE2C project is now in its second, diagnostic phase where the Steering Committee is examining data gained by Bain & Company and reviewing more than 230 interviews from faculty and staff to find areas of savings within the university and implementing potential changes.

With this project SMU is seeking to find ways to become more efficient, increase productivity, reallocate sources from administration to academics, and slow the growth of tuition rates, which have been rising on campuses across the country.

President R. Gerald Turner stated that the OE2C website will be updated frequently with new initiatives in the upcoming weeks.