Ale Kennedy has been named Clemson University’s associate vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer, Tony Wagner, Clemson’s executive vice president of finance and operations, announced today.
Kennedy will lead a team of more than 60 human resources professionals in the Office of Human Resources whose mission is to recruit, engage and retain Clemson’s outstanding faculty and staff.
“The University engaged a recruiting firm and conducted a rigorous national search to select our human resources leader. I would like to thank the other members of the search committee for their work on this very important search, which gave us an opportunity to review close to 100 highly accomplished applicants,” said Vice President and Chief of Staff Max Allen who chaired the search committee.
“Serving as the interim CHRO for the past year, Ale brought more than two decades of HR leadership experience in higher education to help guide the University’s response to COVID-19. She’s proven herself to be the leader for the times.”
“I would like to thank President Clements, Provost Jones, General Counsel Hood and members of the Executive Leadership Team for meeting with each of our finalists in a thorough evaluation of a very talented group of candidates,” said Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations Tony Wagner. “Dr. Kennedy’s exceptional interim service during a very challenging time as well as her vision for the future of Clemson’s Office of Human Resources elevated her candidacy, and I am delighted by her decision to accept the position.”
During her past five years at Clemson, Kennedy served in a variety of roles—most recently as the interim associate vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer. Prior to joining Clemson in Jan. 2016, Kennedy was the interim associate vice president for human resources at Georgia Southern University.
Throughout her career, Kennedy has served on the College and University Professional Association for HR (CUPA-HR) and currently serves as a member of its national board.
Kennedy received her undergraduate degree at Clemson University and went on the earn her Doctorate in Education with an emphasis in Educational Leadership from Georgia Southern University.