Ida Mae Ustad, Deputy Associate Administrator for Acquisition Policy in the Office of Governmentwide Policy, General Services Administration (GSA), died November 29, 1999, in Rockville, Maryland, after a long battle with cancer. She earned a well-deserved reputation throughout the Federal Government and with private industry for providing expert acquisition and procurement advice.
Ms. Ustad provided leadership in the implementation of several major piecesof legislation affecting civilian and defense acquisition and procurement programs. She served as a key member of the Vice President's National Performance Review team that reviewed Federal Procurement. She also assumed responsibility for management of the Acquisition Reform Network (ARNet) which makes information available on the Internet. Working with the OMB Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Department of Defense, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, she ensured the successful implementation of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994, the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996, and the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996.
A native of South Dakota, her hometown was so small that she had attended a one-room schoolhouse in grade school. A letter was read at Ida's memorial service from her teacher/physical therapist who was at the school that Ida attended after the accident which confined her to a wheelchair. Apparently, Ida left her regular high school to attend this special hospital/ school for sick/injured children in Sioux Falls, SD, and graduated high school there. Her teacher had kept in touch with her all of these years.
Ustad began her GSA career as a clerical assistant in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1971. She held numerous positions of responsibility and leadership in that region as well as in GSA's headquarters. During her career, Ustad earned numerous awards including the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive (1997), Senior Procurement Professional by the National Contract Management Association and the National Association of Black Procurement Professionals (1996); Vice President Gore's Hammer Award (1995), GSA's Meritorious Service Award (1985). At a national 1998 GSA acquisition conference, Ustad was awarded a plaque that summed up her abilities: "Ida M. Ustad, Procurement Goddess."
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