President Julie Sullivan shared the following in an email to the St. Thomas community.
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Kathy Arnold as the University of St. Thomas' first vice president and chief human resources officer (CHRO). Kathy will begin her role on July 30, 2021, and will play a key role on our senior leadership team.
As you know, a priority in our St. Thomas 2025 strategic plan is to strengthen our workplace culture as we successfully embrace opportunities that will help St. Thomas thrive into the future. The chief human resources officer position was designed to ensure St. Thomas can retain, attract and develop top talent and sustain a culture where all employees experience a sense of belonging, feel valued for their contributions and can flourish.
Working alongside our current talented human resources team, Kathy will lead our efforts to modernize and align our human resources, compensation and hiring functions across campus and reward and retain talent. Kathy also will help us embed our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities across the university. She shares St. Thomas’ strong commitment to DEI and embraces our aspiration of being a university characterized by radical hospitality and a shared sense of belonging.
Kathy comes to St. Thomas most recently from Willis Towers Watson (WTW), a global risk management, insurance brokerage and human resources advisory company, where she counseled corporate leaders on workplace issues and shaping welcoming and resilient cultures that adapt to change. Prior to WTW, Kathy served in many human resources roles at C.H. Robinson Worldwide, including leadership positions in organizational effectiveness, learning and development, employee relations, and talent management functions. She was responsible for designing diversity and inclusion best practices and is a champion of embedding a culture of inclusion across organizations. Kathy’s accomplishments included developing new HR service delivery models and improving talent acquisition and onboarding. Kathy received her B.A. in English from the University of Central Florida and studied industrial relations at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
I want to extend my deepest gratitude to Erin Muckerheide, who has served since last September in an acting lead HR role and has provided guidance to our talented HR team and to me during this transition. As you know, Erin is a very skilled HR leader and has led us through an incredibly challenging year for human resources. Thank you, Erin, for your guidance and professionalism throughout this transition.
I also extend my sincere thanks to the search committee, co-chaired by Jodee Kozlak ’85, current St. Thomas trustee and former CHRO of Target Corporation, and Dr. MayKao Y. Hang, vice president of strategic initiatives and founding dean of the Morrison Family College of Health.
Our people are our most important assets at St. Thomas. Our future success depends on ensuring that every employee can thrive and make a positive impact as a member of our St. Thomas community. I look forward to working with Kathy to further strengthen our culture so that we continue to thrive as a university, embrace new challenges and opportunities, and grow the impact of our mission.
I hope you are enjoying the summer, and I remain grateful to each and every one of you.
Please join me in welcoming Kathy to St. Thomas.
