Carthage hires first HR director
Carthage has hired its first director of human resources: Sandra Siira, who has accumulated 20 years of HR experience in a diverse mix of organizations.
Ms. Siira comes to Carthage from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, where she has been the director of human resources since June 2014. Before that, she had leadership roles with FedEx, Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corporation, and technology firm Magnetek.
“On behalf of the entire hiring committee, I am thrilled to welcome Sandy to the Carthage community,” said Scot Ecker, vice president for administration and business. “Her professional background in higher education and the private sector, combined with her commitment to professional development, leadership coaching and continuous improvement, make her the ideal person for our founding director of human resources position.”
She will provide leadership in the College’s recruitment and diversity, compensation, benefit plan design and implementation, employee relations, professional development, and performance management. In addition, Ms. Siira will directly oversee hiring, leave, personnel files, employment agreements, and disciplinary actions.
She draws from experience with employers small and large, public and private, in the higher education, insurance, manufacturing, retail, transportation, and service sectors. At each of those stops, Ms. Siira has developed programs involving compensation, training, employee recognition, and wellness, while identifying cost-cutting strategies.
“All of us who met Sandy on campus were impressed by her expertise, her broad range of experiences in HR, and her calm and reassuring professional demeanor,” President Gregory S. Woodward said. “This is another moment in time when Carthage has just elevated itself in a significant way, reaching higher toward our collective goal of true excellence.”
Ms. Siira earned a Master of Human Resources and Labor Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelor’s degree in business management and professional communications from Alverno College in Milwaukee.
Reporting to the vice president for administration and business, Ms. Siira will work out of the Business Office in Lentz Hall. She is scheduled to begin Jan. 25.