February 3, 2023

Dear UM Community,

Every day, I am reminded that UM’s greatest strength lies in the quality and talent of our people. Over the course of the past few years, we have explored and implemented new ways to support UM employees while fostering a healthy workplace culture. The objectives and strategies associated with PFA #3, “Embody the principle of mission first, people always,” have guided this work. 

A recent outcome of these efforts was a commitment to create a People and Culture sector that brings together Equal Opportunity (EO)/Title IX, Human Resource Services (HRS), and the Office of Organizational Learning and Development (OOLD), ensuring a more holistic approach to supporting employees and shaping the culture we want at UM. 

As a step toward the creation of this new People and Culture sector, we recently searched for a vice president who would be responsible for integrating these existing offices into a new, more comprehensive sector squarely focused on serving our people. 

However, over the course of the last few months, we have learned that the initial design and launch of this new sector is best led by a team that already deeply understands UM and can efficiently and effectively shape this new sector. So, I have decided that we will not hire a vice president at this time. 

Instead, I have decided that the best way to build the new People and Culture sector is by elevating the talent and expertise we already have here at UM, integrating the offices listed above, and immediately investing in the most urgent People and Culture functions that will have the greatest impact on our people. We will assess the need for executive leadership of the sector over time.   

As we bring together this new sector, I will work directly with the following leaders: 

• Alicia Arant will be promoted to become the Associate Vice President for Conflict, Resolution, and Policy and will build a new centralized office that houses EO/Title IX, but also seeks to address broader campus conflict through coordinated resolution tools and applicable policies. To more effectively address conflict within our learning and working environments, this new office will prioritize development of a comprehensive intake system designed to connect individuals to appropriate campus resolution processes. This resource will help improve the every-day experiences of UM people while fostering a more inclusive campus environment. Hilly McGahan will support this endeavor by assuming the position of Interim Director of EO/Title IX.
• Terri Phillips, Associate Vice President of HRS, will help integrate HRS into the People and Culture sector and ensure a smooth transition to new leadership upon her retirement later this year. We will post the job announcement for her replacement today to ensure a successful handoff in this unit.
• Jasmine Zink Laine, Director of OOLD, will integrate learning and development strategies into the sector and collaborate with sector leaders to address the most urgent development needs for employees and managers.
• Amy Fowler Kinch, Deputy Chief of Staff in the President’s Office, will lead this integration process by identifying, prioritizing, and guiding the foundational work necessary in building the sector.

I will meet regularly with these leaders to support our collective progress in implementing the strategies already outlined in PFA #3 and prioritize our efforts as we head into FY24. 

I am deeply grateful that we can rely on individuals who know our campus and who have long been committed to our employees. I look forward to working closely with these leaders as the People and Culture sector comes into shape.

Seth