College hires head of HR

College hires head of HR

Maureen Walsh. Courtesy GVSU

A local college has named its new human resources leader.

Grand Valley State University said last week it hired Maureen Walsh as associate VP for HR.

Walsh will serve as the university's chief HR officer and a member of the president's cabinet.

Most recently, she served as director of HR at Aquinas College, where she led the transformation of the HR function from an outsourced service department to a “strategic campus partner.”

Previously, Walsh served as VP for global HR at Bissell Homecare and held leadership roles in employee relations, internal communications and learning development at U.S. Cellular in Chicago.

Earlier in her career, she worked in sales, marketing and customer service at several Fortune 500 companies. 

Scott Richardson, VP for administrative services at GVSU, said Walsh brings a diverse background to the position.

"Maureen has held increasingly demanding roles and has always led with the organization's mission central to human resource operations," Richardson said. "We are pleased to welcome her to Grand Valley and are confident she will lead the university's human resources functions well into the future."

She belongs to several community organizations, including Michigan Women Forward, Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women and Inforum Michigan.

She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northern Illinois University, a master's degree in communication studies from GVSU, a management certificate from Loyola University Chicago and a certificate in HR from DePaul University.

"I'm honored to be leading human resources at Grand Valley," Walsh said. "The team is an exceptional group of HR professionals and together we will continue to focus on creating a positive campus culture in support of the university’s mission.”