Priya Harjani named interim VP for human resources

In anticipation of the retirement of Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) Pam Beemer on Aug. 31, Priya Harjani, Associate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, has been named Northwestern's Interim Vice President and CHRO beginning Sept. 1.

Harjani has been very engaged in employee relations and other human resource matters during her career at Northwestern, and she is well equipped to lead the unit, according to Craig Johnson, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance.

The search for a new vice president is well underway. The search committee anticipates interviewing first-round candidates in mid-September and inviting finalists to campus in late September. The University's goal is to have a new leader in place by the beginning of January 2020. Harjani is not a candidate in the search and will return full-time to the Office of General Counsel when the new vice president begins their appointment.

In the meantime, the following HR leaders will report directly to Harjani in her interim role:

• Yvette Davis, HR Operations, Payroll, and Tax
• Samir Desai, Learning and Organizational Development
• Anne Fish, Benefits and Work/Life Resources 
• Stephanie Griffin, HR Business Partners and Employee Relations
• Caroline Onagan, Talent Acquisition (She has also been asked to lead the Compensation team in an interim capacity.)