Leadership Transition in Human Resources
August 2, 2022
Dear Loyola Faculty and Staff,
I write to inform you that Winifred L. Williams, PhD, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, has accepted a new position as the Senior Vice President for Communications, Governance Services, and Human Resources at the College of American Pathologists in Northfield, Illinois beginning September 19, 2022.
This is an exciting opportunity for Dr. Williams, and we are grateful for her leadership and continuous efforts to evolve Loyola University Chicago’s human resource practices in keeping with our Jesuit, Catholic mission and values during a time of significant growth and change. She has worked tirelessly to recruit and retain faculty, staff, and administrators, ensured our faculty and staff have access to a robust and competitive suite of employee benefit offerings, and partnered with Mission Integration to shape organizational culture and cultivate employee engagement.
During her eight-year tenure with Loyola, Dr. Williams led critical strategic organizational change initiatives, which included integrating human capital management practices; partnering with Finance and other key unit stakeholders to lead employee efforts through an unprecedented global pandemic; and leading technology innovation to expand user services such as employee self-service functionality and co-leading development of the Enterprise Learning Hub as a common online training platform for faculty and staff in collaboration with ITS.
In an effort to further strengthen and enhance policies in support of academic excellence, mission, and values, Dr. Williams worked collaboratively to create the Comprehensive Policy for Discrimination, Sexual Misconduct, and Retaliation; expanded critical compliance programs like the Conflict of Interest Policy and reporting procedures; and led the establishment and launch of the Office for Equity & Compliance (OEC) to assist students, faculty, and staff on Title IX and related discrimination regulations.
Dr. Williams also served as the University’s first Chief Diversity Officer. In that capacity, she initiated over-arching diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies to increase representation of faculty and staff. This work resulted in an expansion of robust education and training programs for faculty, staff, and managers. Through her collaborative work with the Executive Council for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, she recruited renowned national speakers to come to Loyola to inspire the community during Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month celebrations and sponsored various events and activities. In expanding the impact of this important work, she championed the establishment of the new Office of Institutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion which was launched last year.
Leadership of these efforts, along with employee benefit offerings and other culture-building initiatives, has resulted in Loyola being recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of “America’s Best Employers for Diversity in 2022,” and “America’s Best Employers for Women in 2022.”
Interim leadership for the Human Resources Division will be finalized in the coming weeks and we will update the community on the search process to fill this key senior leadership role.
It has truly been a pleasure partnering with Dr. Williams and we have benefited from her 20-plus years of human resources expertise from across diverse sectors including higher education, healthcare, aerospace engineering, and financial services. Dr. Williams’ experience coupled with her dedication to our students, faculty, staff, and mission has enabled her to effectively lead and contribute meaningful human resource solutions for the entire University community.
Please join me in extending our deepest gratitude to Dr. Williams and congratulating her on this next step in her career journey.
Sincerely,
Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD
President