After years of heading human resource departments at various prominent universities, Kyle Cavanaugh will become Duke's vice president for human resources beginning Feb. 1, 2009, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask announced Wednesday.
"I've had wonderful experiences in both private and public institutions," Cavanaugh said. "I've had a lot of experience in academic health centers, and the combination of what Duke represents appeared to be a really terrific fit for my skills, competencies and experiences. And those things led me to the decision to accept [Duke's] offer."
Cavanaugh will replace Clint Davidson, who has led Duke's human resources programs for 11 years and will be retiring. In his new position, Cavanaugh will oversee the policies and services that affect Duke's 30,000 employees, including benefits and compensation, health care, safety, labor relations and childcare, according to a University statement.
Chosen in a national search, Cavanaugh will head a 130-person human resources staff and work alongside the human resource department of the Duke University Health System.
"Kyle has impressed everyone he's worked with and will bring a strong record of accomplishment in HR and other business areas," Trask said in the statement. "He understands how deeply a university depends on its employees to achieve its critical missions of teaching, research, patient care and service to society.
Cavanaugh said he will also be assuming broader business functions at Duke, working with the Duke University Police Department and the Office of Information Technology.
Currently, Cavanaugh works at the University of Florida, where he served as vice president for human resources beginning in 2005 and was promoted to vice president for administration in 2007, according to the statement.
"I'm very excited," he said. "Certainly, leaving the University of Florida was a difficult decision. The institution is a phenomenal place with talented faculty and staff. However, the opportunity at Duke may be once-in-a-career opportunity, and I was absolutely enamored with the opportunity and am approaching it with a great deal of excitement."
Previously, Cavanaugh served as associate vice president for human resource services for five years at The University of Texas at Austin, the chief human resources officer at Rice University and held senior human resources positions at Vanderbilt University.
Although he said he does not have any specific ideas for Duke at the moment, Cavanaugh has had conversations with various administrators that have made him even more eager to join the University.
"Duke has had a long history of some terrific programs and initiatives, and my intent is to build on that foundation and to serve faculty and staff to the best of our ability," he said.
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