As the new deputy executive vice chancellor for human resources at UMass Chan Medical School, Carolyn Brownawell, MBA, brings more than 35 years of experience in higher education, technology, retail and financial services sectors, and she believes that diversity, equity and inclusion are essential to institutional growth.
“My personal commitment for promoting a fair and inclusive environment is grounded in my passion for supporting continuous career development and learning opportunities for everyone in the community,” said Brownawell, who joined UMass Chan in February after serving as the chief human resources officer for the University of Colorado’s Anschutz Medical and Denver campuses.
“I see inclusion as the ‘recipe’ that leverages differences in a way that promotes continual innovation. I am passionate about promoting the values and practices that support openness, respect, collaboration, validity and appreciation of different points of view, and that will continue to guide my work here,” she said.
Brownawell provides strategic direction to the Office of Human Resources for a wide range of programs and initiatives related to attracting, developing and retaining talented staff and faculty at UMass Chan. She said that in her years spent in various sectors, she has enjoyed none more than the higher education environment, and in particular working in academic medicine.
“I find the pace of innovation, and the mission focus of an academic medical campus to be challenging in a way that invigorates me every day. I am passionately committed to working with organizations with a strong mission focus, and those with cultures that deeply value the unique contribution of all employees, and UMass Chan ticked all of those boxes for me,” she said.
Brownawell, whose undergrad degree is from Mount Holyoke College and master’s degree in business administration from Boston University, previously served as executive director of human resources at Boston University and spent 25 years in human resources with the MITRE Corporation, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, and McLean, Virginia.
She said she is looking forward to helping the UMass Chan community continue to adjust to the emerging realities of a work environment that has permanently changed, with support for remote, hybrid and in-person modalities. She is especially elated to do this work at an institution that is already recognized both locally and nationally as a “best place to work.”
“That recognition, in the midst of a pandemic, speaks so highly of the environment here, and the opportunities to work with colleagues to build on and strengthen that recognition are energizing for me,” she said.
Human resources functions such as employee support are important to her as well.
“I already see many opportunities to build on the resources we have in place,” she said. “Our Office of Well Being provides so many programs and services that promote employee health and assist employees during times of stress or when facing personal or emotional challenges. I look forward to working with the team to create greater awareness of these services to support our community.”
She is working with the Human Resources team to reinstitute employee recognition events and is supporting the learning and development team as it rolls out a variety of virtual and in-person development programs, including learning experiences for faculty; professional, administrative and support staff; emerging leaders; and “leaders of leaders.”
She said she believes that it takes the entire UMass Chan community’s effort to implement policies and procedures and encourages employees to familiarize themselves with the HR services by exploring the offerings on the website, participating in program, and sharing feedback so that the department can evolve future programs and services to meet emerging needs. That also includes letting her know who in the department has made “made your day,” by emailing ShoutOutforHR@umassmed.edu so that they can be recognized.
