Dr. Alejandra “Ale” Kennedy, associate vice president and chief human resources officer at Clemson University, has been selected to serve as chair-elect of the board of directors of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) for the 2025-26 fiscal year. She will then serve as chair of the board for the 2026-27 fiscal year. Her term begins on July 1.

For more than 20 years, Kennedy has been an active member of CUPA-HR, where she has been highly involved at all levels of the association. From 2013 to 2016, she served as the secretary of the Georgia Chapter board. She has been a long-time member of the Southern Region board, culminating in a term as chair during the 2020-21 fiscal year. Since 2022, Kennedy has served as the Southern Region Representative to the national board of directors. She has also been an active member of several CUPA-HR committees and task forces, including the Governance Task Force, Public Policy and National Awards committees, vice chair of the Learning and Professional Development Committee, and chair of the Research Advisory Committee.

“Ale is one of the country’s most outstanding higher education HR leaders. We are so fortunate that she will serve as chair-elect of CUPA-HR’s board of directors,” said CUPA-HR President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andy Brantley.

Kennedy has over 25 years of experience in higher ed human resources and has spent the past nine years at Clemson University. “I am extremely honored to have been selected as the chair-elect of CUPA-HR — an organization that has supported me throughout my career in human resources,” shared Kennedy. “I look forward to working with the CUPA-HR team to continue to elevate HR practices and ensure our priorities remain aligned with the evolving landscape of higher education.”

About CUPA-HR

CUPA-HR is higher ed HR. We serve higher education by providing the knowledge, resources, advocacy and connections to achieve organizational and workforce excellence. Serving more than 40,000 HR professionals and other higher ed leaders at nearly 2,000 member institutions and organizations around the country and abroad, the association offers learning and professional development programs, higher education salary, benefits and demographic data, extensive online resources and just-in-time regulatory and legislative information.

 

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