Zan Johns, a long-time employee of the University of Colorado at Boulder, has been named director of human resources, pending approval by the Board of Regents at their Aug. 5 meeting.
The appointment will be effective Aug. 6.
Johns has been interim director since November 1997, when former Director Shari Robertson transferred to a new position to lead the Office of Sexual Harassment Policy.
As interim director, "Zan has demonstrated that she is not only capable of managing the organization but also is capable of moving the organization in a direction that more favorably supports the resources of our campus," said Paul Tabolt, vice chancellor for administration.
"Zan's steadfast and progressive performance is the basis for my recommendation that the Board of Regents appoint her to the position of director of human resources."
Highlights from her tenure as interim director include instituting a more responsive and sensitive human resource organization; reducing turnaround time for classified staff selection; establishing a human resources information technology services unit; implementing the discretionary pay differential program for classified staff; proactively assigning the employee development staff to address employee/employer needs; preparing for the Colorado Peak Performance (CPP) program; and significant contributions toward fulfilling the Administrative Streamlining Project.
"I was pleased to have had the opportunity to be interim human resources director and am excited to continue serving the university and campus in this capacity," Johns said. "Along with my colleagues, I look forward to becoming more of a strategic partner in providing services to enhance and support the university聮s human infrastructure."
Johns has been employed at CU-Boulder for 20 years, beginning her career in the Office of Payroll and advancing to the position of senior assistant to the vice chancellor for administration with responsibility for project and policy management. She was responsible for the design and implementation of the original Fellows Program, and played a key role in the initial contract negotiations and in securing funds for the Faculty/Staff Ecopass program.
Other projects have included work with campus diversity planning, the redesign of the administration program review process and helping to create the administrative infrastructure in her early years in the Vice Chancellor for Administration office.
In conjunction with Johns' appointment, the Department of Human Resources will assume responsibility for managing exempt professional positions and related records. This change will allow enhanced coordination between the classified and exempt professional personnel systems, and will take effect on Sept. 1.