Susan Karavolas has been appointed chief human resources officer, College officials announced today.
She was selected following a national search. She succeeds Eric Noll, who retired in January after 29 years at Union. Jennifer Massey served in an interim role since Noll’s retirement.
Karavolas begins at Union May 18.
In announcing her appointment, Michele Gibson, vice president for Administration and Finance, cited Karavolas’s extensive experience in human resources, both in higher education and the public and private sector.
Since 2016, Karavolas served as vice president of Human Resources at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She led a three-person team responsible for all human resources functions for 330 employees. Among her accomplishments, she led the effort to overhaul recruitment, employee engagement, onboarding experience and the benefits program. She also completed a comprehensive benefits evaluation and introduced a leadership development program.
Karavolas was a member of the president’s cabinet and the college’s deputy Title IX coordinator.
Before joining Albany College of Pharmacy, Karavolas was assistant deputy director of the Business Center for the New York State Office of General Services from 2014 to 2016. From 2012 to 2014, she was senior business partner for Human Resources at GlobalFoundries. She has also held leadership positions at Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan and Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Karavolas holds a bachelor of sciences degree with a concentration in management from the College of Saint Rose.