Meet the HR Leadership Team - June 30, 2019

Dr. Ale Kennedy, Ed.D. Associate CHRO, HR Services For the past two decades, Ale Kennedy has been a forerunner in HR thought leadership, deepening her knowledge in all human resources functions as they relate to higher education. Ale began her career in organizational development at the University of South Carolina Aiken. Later she transitioned to Augusta University where she served as the associate director of employee relations and training. In 2007, following a quest for increased knowledge in HR leadership, Ale took a position with Georgia Southern University and was promoted to associate vice president of human resources. In 2016, Ale returned to her alma mater, Clemson University. Clemson leverages Ale’s depth of knowledge and leadership skills as the associate chief human resources officer. With more than 20 years of experience in areas including recruitment and retention, conflict resolution, change management, employee relations, training and benefits administration, Ale is the ideal person for her position. Ale is serving a three-year term on the board of directors of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR). She has been a member of CUPA-HR since 2002 and has held significant leadership roles. Ale’s husband, Kevin, also works at Clemson and thy have two active kids. When Ale isn’t working, she runs—far! Ale has competed in the Boston Marathon eight times. 864.656.9407 alekenn@clemson.edu Clemson, SC Emily Watrous, MHRD Chief Human Resources Officer Emily Watrous leads the Office of Human Resources at Clemson University, which includes 2 associate CHROs (Total Rewards and HR Services), 8 directors and an additional 60 human resources team members. Emily provides operational support for the University’s talent acquisition, compensation, benefits, talent development and performance management, employee relations, HR information systems, customer service, data center, records management and international employment. Emily began her career in 1996 and has worked with multiple Fortune 150 companies in various human resources, change management and talent development leadership roles. Prior to joining Clemson, Emily was the chief HR officer for Southern First Bank. She also worked at Fluor Corporation for 15 years and Bank of America for 5 years in a variety of key human resources roles. Emily has an undergraduate degree in psychology from Clemson University and a master’s degree in human resources development from Webster University. She has a passion for travel and seeing the world. She lived overseas for more than 8 years in Europe, Asia, Africa and China. Emily met her husband, Dave, at Clemson, and they have two active daughters. When she is not working, Emily loves to spend time with family and friends at the lake and volunteers her time at several non-profit organizations. Emily also serves on the Executive Board of Clemson’s MBA program in downtown Greenville. H R esponsibilities: Compensation Engagement and Retention HR Compliance HR Information Systems, Tools, and Employee Data HR Services International Employment Onboarding and Offboarding Staff and Faculty Relations Talent Acquisition Training and Organizational Development Workforce Benefits and Well-Being H R esponsibilities: Develop long- and short-term goals for achieving optimal HR services Lead HR Service Center: • HR generalists • HR service representatives and HR help desk • Strategic consultants Leverage best practices, benchmarking and emerging trends to lead the overall improvement of HR services Support HR initiatives to ensure highest quality of service 864.656.4286 watrous@clemson.edu Clemson, SC