Upcoming University Administration Changes
Dear Faculty and Staff,
As the academic year closes, I am writing to update you on changes within the Office of the President and to share news about a departure. At the end of June, Amanda Bailey, Vice President for Human Resources, will be leaving to pursue another career opportunity. I am grateful to Amanda for her committed service, warmth, and leadership in advancing Human Resources at Boston University. Concurrently, on July 1, several administrative divisions will be regrouped under a new unit that collectively will focus on people and institutional culture.
These changes are designed to better support our people, who carry out the important mission of the University in myriad ways. Boston University has a long history of investing in its people. For example, our tuition remission program has supported generations of Terriers. More recently, the University has opened a new childcare center and launched the Staff Advisory Council. Yet, we can do even more to support our community, especially at this time of challenge and turbulence in higher education.
We will soon consolidate several vacant positions into a single role focused on people and belonging—a key position, heading a related office, focused on unifying and elevating our people-related functions. This will be a cabinet-level position, reporting to me.
The office will bring together existing teams to support and strengthen our University. I am confident that the work of this multifunctional unit will be instrumental in fostering a more collaborative culture, ensuring that we all have the resources necessary to succeed and that our institution continues to benefit from the breadth of experiences and perspectives that our people bring to Boston University. This effort will also strengthen our compliance and bias reporting functions. We have done important work over the past year to define the values that bind our highly diverse community, since our founding and into the future. The Living Our Values Initiative will be further anchored through this office.
The office will serve several key areas, including but not limited to:
- Employee relations, performance, and benefits
- Leadership and organizational development
- Campus community, culture, and belonging
- Employee-related compliance, education, and training
- Additional special projects and priorities
Several functional areas—including Human Resources, the Office of the Ombuds, Equal Opportunity, Diversity & Inclusion, and the LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff—will be coordinated under this new organization, with some operational responsibilities shared with other campus partners. We will search to fill this leadership position, and in the interim, most units will continue to function and report as they currently do, with the exception of the following units:
- Diversity & Inclusion and the LGBTQIA+ Center for Faculty & Staff will report to Christine Wynne, Chief of Staff to the President
- Human Resources will report to Derek Howe, Senior Vice President for Operations
By soon unifying these responsibilities within the Office of the President, we ensure that investing in our people, particularly our staff, is a top institutional priority. Further, it reinforces the interconnectedness of our work and helps us remain strategic, inclusive, and forward-thinking in all aspects of our people-centric practices.
We will continue to update you and welcome your input as the collective work of this new office begins to take shape. Thank you for your dedication to our mission. Together, we will continue building a brighter future for Boston University and the communities we serve.
Sincerely,
Melissa Gilliam
President
*6/12/25 This message was sent to faculty and staff.