In the fifth of a spotlight series launched in February to feature integrated business operations (IBO) and administration staff at the Yale Child Study Center (YCSC) and Department of Psychiatry, meet IBO Director of Faculty Affairs and Staff Administration Victoria D'Agostino, MSOL.
The IBO model was implemented in October 2019, when Yale School of Medicine (YSM) leadership asked each of the departmental business managers in Psychiatry and the YCSC to collaborate and find opportunities for business operations staff in both departments to work more closely together. The initial collaboration led to further integration of operations in the areas of Human Resources, Faculty Affairs and Staffing Administration, Research Finance and Administration, and Clinical Finance and Administration. Each of these areas are now run inter-departmentally, the IBO model has been adopted by nearly all YSM departments. As announced in June 2023, the Department of Pediatrics Business Office has been now been added to this IBO structure.
Meet Director of Faculty Affairs and Staff Administration Victoria D'Agostino
How long have you been at Yale and what roles have you filled in that time?
My career at Yale began in 1993 in the Department of Psychiatry. In 2000, I left Yale for several years to raise my children and returned to Yale in 2008 as a Registrar in the Department of Philosophy. In June of 2016, I returned to the Department of Psychiatry which is now the Psychiatry and Child Study Center IBO. I like to say that my career at Yale has come full circle.
What is a work-related accomplishment that made you feel proud?
I am very proud of the faculty affairs and staff administration team that has been created in the psychiatry/CSC IBO. The team members are amazing, dedicated, intelligent, funny, and supportive - to name a few of their outstanding qualities.
What energizes you (activities, roles, hobbies, or otherwise) outside of work?
I love to travel both in the United States and internationally. I recently visited the Grand Canyon as well as Dublin and Edinburgh. I enjoy walking on the beach and listening to the waves roll up on the sand. I also love to read and am a member of the department book club. I find it relaxing to submerge myself in a great historical fiction novel.
What three words would your friends use to describe you?
I think my friends would describe me as dedicated, kind, and happy. Just for fun, I asked my son and these are the words he used: resilient, caring, fun-loving.
What is an accomplishment you are proud of outside of work/your current job?
I recently graduated from Quinnipiac with my master’s degree and am very proud of that accomplishment. It took extreme dedication to complete the required coursework while working full time and being there for my family.
If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
I am hoping to travel to many countries around the world and many states in the United States. One place that is on the top of my list is Normandy, France. I will be going there with my husband, Joe, in October. As a college student, I studied abroad in France and am eager to revisit Normandy and Paris with a different perspective (and maybe better accommodations!). In the United States, I would like to travel to Utah. I want to see the beauty of the never-ending landscape.
What would you like to share that might surprise your colleagues?
A fact that might surprise my colleagues is that I have a horse and spend a lot of time at the barn with my daughter. Another fun fact is that my son and I started an annual tradition where we spend a week traveling together to different countries. He, like me, loves to travel.