New positions named in Vela’s welcome to faculty, staff
Texas A&M University-Kingsville’s (TAMUK) President Dr. Robert Vela is already taking strides to ensure excellence for all students, faculty and staff on campus as his first month in office comes to an end. Vela has a strategic plan which includes introducing new titles and positions to the university aimed at targeting strategy, performance excellence and culture.
In his welcome letter sent to faculty and staff on June 22 he announced three new positions, Chief of Strategies Officer (CSO), Chief of Performance Excellence Officer (CPEO) and Chief of People and Workplace Culture (CPWC).
Vela’s first priority is student success saying the mission requires an effective strategy, and appointed Jill Woodall as CSO.
Woodall is the serving Chief of Staff for the former TAMUK interim president Dr. James Hallmark.
“As CSO I will have the opportunity to holistically dive deep into all the moving parts of this wonderful university and help find pathways and processes that help us run more effectively and efficiently both as a university and a Javelina family,” Woodall said.
Woodall has almost 10 years of experience within the A&M System.
President Vela said she brings vital expertise in project management and strategic leadership
“I have already begun working closely with the TAMUK leadership team to organize our efforts at developing and accessing strategies across campus. I’m also taking time to get to know the outstanding staff and faculty here and learn more about their needs and ideas,” she said.
Woodall will also continue working with Hallmark splitting her time in each position.
The CPEO position is not yet filled but the university has plans to post the opening within the next few weeks.
“It is imperative that as the University implements new strategies, programs and initiatives we continuously measure outcomes in the spirit of continuous improvement,” Director of Marketing and Communications Adriana Garza-Flores said. “The CPEO will be an integral part of identifying successes, challenges and opportunities for the University to enhance our processes and services.”
According to Vela’s Welcome Letter, the position will be used to differentiate the college from other institutions, making TAMUK the premiere higher learning institution of South Texas.
“The CPEO will join the President’s leadership team and will lead and organize initiatives that support excellence, including research, planning, organizational development and resource development. This position will be responsible for helping to develop effective strategies that move various university projects, programs and ideas forward while focusing on outcomes. Using proven models like the Baldridge Performance Excellence Program, the CPEO will be critical in ensuring TAMUK meets its goals,” Garza-Flores said.
The CPEO position will work closely on implementing the university’s strategic plan.
The final aspect Vela hopes to focus on is culture.
Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Henry Burgos will take on the new role as CPWC to create respecting campus culture.
“The position of CPWC is a reclassification of my formal title of CHRO. The new title more appropriately describes the President’s goals, which include positioning the university’s workforce to meet its current and future needs understanding that it is our people – faculty, staff and students – that will propel this university to thrive and fulfill its mission,” Burgos said.
Vela also notes in the letter that faculty, staff, researchers, coaches and administrators all have a role to play to achieve each goal.
“Our core mission is to educate students and at the center of that mission is people. It is important for President Vela to have a people strategy that will, among other things, focus on employee morale, workplace culture, employee retention, employee recognition, and employee reward. In addition, that strategy will ensure that we have a comprehensive training program that will begin to meet the professional development needs of our employees,” Burgos said. “To that end, three years ago a group of employees established the President’s Leadership Academy (PLA) to provide leadership training for middle managers and department chairs, but we want to go beyond that. For starters, in the fall we will expand the PLA to aspiring leaders to support the development of faculty and staff who wish to advance their careers here at Texas A&M-Kingsville. We will be announcing other initiatives aimed at further development of our workforce in the months ahead.”
Each new position aims at further propelling the university.
Vela ended the letter to faculty and staff stating his excitement to meet each member in the coming weeks and months to learn about their ideas and needs.
“Yes, we have work to do, but we are ready,” Vela said.