UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Vice President for Human Resources Susan Basso has accepted a position as senior vice president for talent, culture and human resources at the Ohio State University. Her final day at Penn State will be July 31.
In her new position, Basso will report directly to President Michael V. Drake. Her appointment is effective Sept. 5, pending approval by the board of trustees of Ohio State. Penn State will conduct a national search for Basso’s replacement; interim leadership will be announced in the near future.
“Susan will leave Penn State with our very best wishes and much to be proud of,” said Penn State Senior Vice President for Finance and Business David Gray. “In her seven years as our chief human resources officer, Susan has built a professional HR leadership team and organization that is seen by many as a national model. She has advanced critical and transformative organizational and technological change, positioning the University to offer higher quality, strategic HR services with significant improvements in cost-effectiveness.”
During her tenure at Penn State, Basso has served as the chief human resources officer for Penn State’s 24 campus locations. Among many initiatives, Basso has led Penn State’s HR business process transformation, a major, multi-year effort to create a modern human resources operation focused on organizational design, shared services, policy harmonization, process redesign, and significant upgrades to aging technological systems. In December, Penn State will introduce WorkLion, a new, personalized access point for all HR functions at the University. “We remain absolutely committed to the HR transformation path and to our plans to roll out Project WorkLion later this year,” said Gray.
“The team-building, the collaborative services model, and the drive to a contemporary HR/payroll system are all legacies of Susan’s leadership that will leave Penn State in a strong position moving into the future,” Gray said. “I wish Susan well as she concludes her service at Penn State and embarks upon the next chapter of her career.”
Basso’s leadership experience in human resources management extends into the areas of benefits administration, recruitment and compensation, training and development, performance management, organizational development, and systems and payroll. She was the chief human resources officer at Seton Hall University from 2006 to 2010 and has more than 25 years of leadership experience in all areas of human resources management. Before her appointment at Seton Hall, Basso spent 18 years at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania in a variety of roles, ultimately as director of human resource management.
Basso currently serves on the board of the AAU HR-Institute, last year as president. She also recently served for three years on the national advisory council for TIAA, and is an advisory board member for the Centre County Salvation Army. Basso been active in CUPA-HR, the organization of higher education human resources professionals. She previously served as the president of CUPA-HR's New York Metro Chapter and received the organization's Eastern Region Emerging Leader Award in 2007.