The search for a permanent chief human resources officer for the CU Boulder campus is on temporary hold while university leadership further assess the needs of the campus and the Human Resources organization, which serves almost 10,000 non-student employees.
“I’d like more time to understand our needs across campus and in HR before filling this critical role,” said Chief Operating Officer Patrick O’Rourke, who leads Strategic Resources and Support, which is the university’s business, finance and operations division and includes Human Resources.
Merna Jacobsen will continue to serve as interim chief human resources officer. In addition, Lisa Landis, formerly assistant vice chancellor for employee relations and HR operations, will assume a new leadership position as deputy chief human resources officer to help advance the campus’s HR priorities. In her new role, she will take on more campus-facing leadership responsibilities.
“Merna is an established campus leader who can continue to steward HR while we engage in this process,” O’Rourke said, adding, “and Lisa has strong, deep experience in HR operations and has been a vital part of our efforts to coordinate with the CU system.”
The search to fill this key campus leadership position began this past summer following the retirement of Katherine Erwin after 27 years of service to CU Boulder.
“Human Resources has served our community extraordinarily well as we underwent significant leadership and other changes through the pandemic, and it will continue to lead as we develop our workplaces in a changed environment,” O’Rourke said.
