UNCP hires Barkett as Human Resources Director

Pamela L.A. Barkett has been hired as Director for the Office of Human Resources (HR) at UNC Pembroke.

Barkett has over 20 years experience in a variety of HR management settings, including higher education. Before joining UNCP, she was Director of Employment at UNC Chapel Hill.

At UNCP, Barkett will be responsible for overseeing all personnel activities for the University with a staff of six. Her duties include administering benefits, recruitment, training, employee recognition and compliance with state and federal mandates.

The new HR Director reports to Neil Hawk, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs.

"I think UNCP is very fortunate to hire a person with the higher education experience that Mrs. Barkett has accumulated during her career," Hawk said. "I believe she will have a positive impact on the human resource services that we offer and will quickly introduce new ways to better serve our employees. I'm excited about the opportunity to work with Pam on improving all aspects of human resource services.

Barkett said the HR field is driven by constantly changing state and federal regulations.

"There are many issues that need to be reviewed going forward because personnel policies are always changing," she said. "I have a generalist background in human resources, and I enjoy all areas of the profession."

Barkett said UNCP represents an attractive opportunity because of its planned growth, that is being fueled by rapid enrollment and employment growth.

"I accepted this position because there is a real opportunity for me at UNCP to make a difference on a campus this size, and I wanted to be a part of the success story that is UNC Pembroke today," Barkett said.

There are several important goals for the future of her office, Barkett said.

"We will be part of the Banner implementation, a new software which will help us manage personnel and benefits," she said. "During the next year, we will be working on a new state compensation system, career banding."

"We also look forward to the opportunity to offer new training and employee recognition programs, along with the continuing policy review," she said. "Working with the Staff Council is also very high on my list."

In her position at UNC-Chapel Hill, Barkett directed the workforce planning and recruitment effort.

"At Chapel Hill, we never had fewer than 450 job vacancies at any one time," she said. "When I got there, we had over 800 vacancies.

"My job was to streamline the recruitment process," she said. "We implemented a new requisition tracking system, which was the first phase of a new job posting and applicant tracking system."

A Baltimore native, Barkett has five children and stepchildren and two grandchildren. Her husband, Jake, has accepted a position teaching math and coaching basketball at South Robeson High School.

A Business Administration graduate of Towson University, Barkett earned a Master's degree in Organizational Development/Human Resources from Johns Hopkins University.

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