This month, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) wants to celebrate Victoria Mallon, a Purchasing Assistant for The University of Alabama. Mallon works with the Office of Information Technology to purchase any technology for the University.
“Whenever anybody needs a license, or equipment, or anything that costs money, I’m the one who purchases it,” said Mallon. This includes everything from licensing Microsoft on behalf of faculty and students to purchasing the mouse pads for computer labs on campus.
At The University of Alabama, technology is integrated into almost every part of campus, which means the campus invests a lot into it. “I spend millions of dollars a day on behalf of OIT,” said Mallon, “I just spend money for a living.”
The budget for the technology on campus is already pre-set when it passes across Mallon’s desk. However, within her role, she must analyze past, present, and future budgets to account for any purchasing expenses she must make.
Across campus, if a computer breaks down, a faculty member’s license for a software expires, or a staff member needs a new printer, they submit a ticket. “I am constantly looking at tickets to see what needs to be purchased,” said Mallon. If the issue cannot be serviced by the university’s IT support team, then the ticket gets passed along to Mallon. From there, it is just a matter of purchasing a replacement.
Mallon said, “It is as easy as paying a bill sounds, but there’s also a follow-up and making sure that the next person down the line of approvals follows up.” After purchasing a new piece of technology, licensing, or anything else for campus, there are follow-ups, reports, and budgets to be assessed. As the Purchasing Assistant, Mallon handles all of the supplementary paperwork when an item is purchased.
Before Mallon was a Purchasing Assistant at The University of Alabama, she studied and worked as a certified medical assistant. However, in 2020, as a result of COVID, she transitioned to working in a social work clinic with families and children. She has been working with OIT as a Purchasing Assistant since January 2022.
When she is not working with the Office of Information Technology, she is spending time at home with her husband and her 9-year-old daughter. Family and friends are a central part of Mallon’s life, and she enjoys spending as much time with them as she can. They consistently are outside camping and traveling to new places. Every other summer, the Mallons travel to Uruguay to visit Mallon’s extended family and spend time with them as well.
The University of Alabama and the Office of Information Technology appreciate all the work and purchasing that Victoria Mallon does for our campus.