Cornell has named its next vice president and chief human resources officer: Mark Schmelz, who currently holds the same title at the University of Oregon. Schmelz’s appointment, approved Nov. 9 by the Executive Committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees, will begin Jan. 4, 2027.

Schmelz has nearly 30 years of experience in the field, including as the chief human resources officer at Oregon since 2019, and at the University of Maine System from 2017-19.

Sean Moeller, who has been serving as interim vice president and chief human resources officer since the 2025 departure of Christine Lovely, will return to his role as associate vice president for human resources.

“With many challenges facing higher education, Mark will be a skilled and empathetic steward of the university’s outstanding workforce, in all its complexity,” President Michael I. Kotlikoff said. “I’m grateful to Sean for his leadership and look forward to working with Mark to build on Cornell’s long track record as an exceptional and fulfilling place to work.”

Previously, Schmelz held leadership roles in labor and employee relations – and prides himself on helping groups with different viewpoints find common ground.

“One of the things I’ve carried forward is the ability to listen,” he said. “It’s really important that I hear people and understand their interests, where they’re coming from, their ideas and needs, and then you can identify the paths forward.”

Schmelz said Cornell’s founding motto of “… any person … any study” resonated with him.

“I have a deep passion for education and the impact it can have not only on individuals but on society,” he said. “That founding mission and how it’s been carried forward through the university’s history – as well as the scope of the university’s research and impact – was very exciting to me.”

Schmelz will oversee a team of 175 human resources staff and serve as leader and strategist for human resources across campuses in Ithaca, Geneva, New York City and Qatar, which together encompass more than 18,000 employees and 11 unions. His portfolio will also include the Department of Inclusion and Belonging and the Cornell Office of Civil Rights.

Schmelz joins Cornell amidst a restructuring of the workforce as part of Resilient Cornell, and his first order of business is to understand the changes already underway and to assess next steps.

“I want to listen to the Cornell community, understand where we are in terms of the changes, how they’re going and what opportunities we have moving forward to do some good work,” Schmelz said.

The challenges facing higher education, including budgetary and enrollment pressures and rapidly changing technology, directly impact the workforce, Schmelz said. The COVID-19 pandemic, which he navigated while at Oregon, brought home the importance of supporting “the whole person” through times of struggle or change, he said.

“There’s so much coming at all of us,” he said. “How do we set up support structures to make sure we’re taking care of people and relieving those stressors so they can focus on their work? When you can help an individual through a challenging situation and then watch as they’re successful moving forward, that’s really rewarding.”

At the University of Oregon, Schmelz oversaw new programming for employees during the pandemic and an overhaul of human resources strategy and infrastructure across decentralized units. At the University of Maine, he worked as a lead negotiator in collective bargaining with faculty, staff and police unions that resulted in agreements and improved relationships. He said one of his greatest accomplishments is building teams where employees feel seen and can advance and find success.

“I think that’s what makes for a good work environment, and I take a lot of pride in the relationships and partnerships I’m able to build in an organization,” he said.

Before serving as chief human resources officer at Oregon and Maine, and as director of labor and employee relations for the Maine system, Schmelz worked for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education as labor relations manager, and as a human resource analyst for the Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. He received his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and public administration at Shippensburg University, in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1998.

Schmelz said he’s ready to return to the Northeast: He still has all his winter gear.

“There’s a lot of comfort for me and my family in coming back to the East Coast,” he said. “It feels like coming home.”