January 24, 2024

Dear UM Community,

I am excited to share with you a milestone in our efforts to embody the principle of mission first, people always. Since 2018, we have worked toward the creation of a new People and Culture sector dedicated to supporting our employees and fostering a positive work culture at UM. Today, I am pleased to announce we have hired a leader for this sector.

Over the past year, we have made significant progress in building this new sector, including bringing together several existing functions that support people. The sector now includes Human Resource Services, the Office of Organizational Learning and Development, and the Office for Conflict, Resolution, and Policy. All of these offices are expanding their services and implementing new programs you will see in the coming months. These include:

• A new approach to onboarding employees and a faster, more effective recruitment process.
• An HR information system that will replace Silk Road this summer and will serve as a helpful workforce management tool.
• A new central intake process in the Office for Conflict, Resolution, and Policy for both students and employees to provide increased access, expertise, and support to conflict prevention and resolution.

As this sector comes together, I am delighted to announce we have hired an impressively experienced vice president as its leader.

Jay Stephens (pictured above) comes to UM after 18 years of leading similar sectors at four other universities. Most recently, he served for the last six years as vice president for human capital services at Kansas State University. Prior to K-State, his positions included: associate vice president for human resources at Boise State University; director of human resources, affirmative action officer and Title IX coordinator at Southern Oregon University; and director of human resources at Utah State University-Eastern. Jay currently serves his professional association, CUPA-HR, as past chair to the national board of directors.

Jay grew up outside Death Valley and remains a national park enthusiast. He reports that he enjoys playing golf even though he says he is not great at it and enjoys woodworking, the Portuguese language and doing just about anything with his family.

Please join us in welcoming Jay to campus.

Seth