July 7, 2010

TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
 
Dear Colleagues:
 
After 15 years of outstanding service to our campus, Dr. Cynthia Cronk, our Director of Human Resources, will be retiring at the end of this month.
 
As Director, Cynthia has provided extraordinary and caring leadership on behalf of all of our campus employees. She has helped us recruit, nurture, support, and retain an outstanding and diverse workforce. During this challenging time of budget reductions, she has worked tirelessly to advocate for the best interests of our staff. Please join me in extending our heartfelt thanks to Cynthia for her dedicated efforts and countless contributions to improving the quality of work life for all of us at UC Santa Barbara. We wish her the very best as she prepares to move to the coastal city of Charleston, South Carolina, in a few weeks.
 
In consultation with administrative and academic colleagues and members of our search advisory committee for the next Director of Human Resources, and upon the committee's recommendation, I am pleased to announce the temporary appointment of Tricia Hiemstra as Interim Director of Human Resources. Tricia has 30 years of work experience in the human resources field. She joined our campus in 1984 in our Affirmative Action Office. She began working in Human Resources in 1985, and in 1995 was promoted to Benefits Manager. In 2008, Tricia took on the additional responsibility of staff Compensation Manager. She was elected to the University of California Retirement System Advisory Board in 2007, and chaired the Board for two terms, 2008-09 and 2009-10. For several years, she also chaired the Santa Barbara HR Association Benefits Survey Committee. We appreciate Tricia's willingness to assist our campus by serving in this important interim position. 
 
I would like to thank the chair of our search advisory committee, UCen Dining Services Director Sue Hawkins, and members Professor Emeritus James Mattinson, Graduate Division Dean Gale Morrison, Transportation & Parking Services Director Robert Defendini, and Associated Students Representative Jaret Ornelas for their efforts in helping us with the search for the best possible next HR Director, to ensure that our Human Resources Department will continue to meet the needs of our faculty, staff, emeriti, and our entire campus community.
 
Sincerely,
 
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor