Finalists for chief human resources officer named

Three finalists for the position of chief human resources officer will begin giving public presentations on campus starting next week.

An 11-member search and screen committee, chaired by Jeffrey S. Russell, dean of the Division of Continuing Studies and vice provost for lifelong learning, selected:

• Wayne Guthrie, senior vice president, staff operations, of the Arthritis Foundation in Atlanta since 2014; vice president, human resources, Arthritis Foundation national office from 2011 to 2014.
• Daniel D. Gutierrez, executive director for human resources & professional development/EEO officer at Santa Fe Community College since January 2015; assistant vice president for business affairs of human resources at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, from 2013 to 2015.
• Mark W. Walters, interim director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Office of Human Resources since July; senior director of operations at UW–Madison’s Office of Human Resources since December 2014.

The candidates will give public presentations at Union South (check Today In The Union for room), with Guthrie from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Oct. 10, Walters from 1:15 to 2:45 p.m. Oct. 14 and Gutierrez from 1:45 to 3:15 p.m. Oct. 17.

Employees may attend the talks in pay status, with supervisor permission, if the presentations fall during normal work hours. During these presentations, the finalists have been invited to lay out their vision for the role, including how engagement, inclusion and diversity (EID) integrates into HR.

The selected candidate will replace Bob Lavigna, who retired July 1 after serving in the role (previously called director of human resources) since 2010.

The chief human resources officer provides leadership, policy direction and management oversight for all HR services for UW–Madison faculty and staff, including athletics and the School of Medicine and Public Health. UW–Madison has more than 20,000 employees, including about 2,200 faculty and 12,500 staff across multiple shifts, plus 5,000 graduate assistants and 7,000 student employees.

CVs and recordings of candidate presentations

Give feedback on the candidates (due Oct. 19)

Questions may be directed to the search committee office at 608-890-1661 or carole.kolb@wisc.edu.