Cheryl Johnson Appointed Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at Pitt

PITTSBURGH—Cheryl L. Johnson, vice president for human capital services at Kansas State University, has been appointed vice chancellor for human resources at the University of Pittsburgh. She will join the University in September.

“Cheryl is a highly experienced and respected global human resources expert, and we are confident she will inspire the human resources staff and elevate the department to a best-in-class organization that will add strategic value to the entire institution,” said Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. “She will play a key role in positioning human resources to support the University’s new, five-year strategic plan.”

“I'm excited to join one of the premier research universities in the nation. The University of Pittsburgh is a special community with an extraordinary history of building better lives,” said Johnson. “I am honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the professionals in human resources as we together serve faculty, staff, and students to realize the shared ambition of offering superior educational programs, advancing frontiers of knowledge and creative endeavor, and sharing expertise with private, community, and public partners.”

Johnson will lead Pitt’s human resources department and will be responsible for designing and administering employee benefits, compensation management, employee and labor relations, recruiting, talent acquisition, and organization development, as well as the University Child Development Center.

“The addition of Cheryl Johnson to our University’s leadership group is the result of a process that began in May,” said Pitt Senior Vice Chancellor for Business and Operations Gregory Scott. “We are confident that we’ve found the best person available to lead the growth and development of our human resources department.”

Prior to entering higher education at Kansas State University, Johnson worked in private industry as the chief operating officer of JVisions Inc. in Kalamazoo, Mich., and as vice president at Meijer in Grand Rapids, Mich. She also was a human resources leader at Wolverine World Wide, Inc.; Whirlpool; Textron Inc.’s Fluid Handling Products Division; and DuPont.

Johnson is a certified human resource professional and certified conflict mediator. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the International Society of Human Resource Management, and The Links, Incorporated. She volunteers for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and Habitat for Humanity and serves on the Board of Directors for Housing Resources Inc.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at Oakland University, a Master of Labor and Industrial Relations degree at Michigan State University, and attended the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

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