Cavanaugh Joins Rice as New Director of Human Resources

Cavanaugh Joins Rice as New Director of Human Resources

BY LISA NUTTING

Rice News Staff

Jan. 14, 1998

Outstanding faculty and students, dedicated staff members, Rice’s supportive administration and the university’s reputation are just a few points that initially attracted Kyle Cava-naugh to the position of associate vice president for Human Resources.

“I was thoroughly impressed with the people I had the opportunity to meet [during the search process],” Cavanaugh said.

He was also inspired by the opportunity to enhance the services provided through the Human Resources department and the demonstrated “sincere interest in being proactive” by the administration.

Cavanaugh, who joined the university staff on Nov. 30, came to Rice from Vanderbilt University and Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. He was employed by Vanderbilt since 1990 and served as director of Human Resource Services since 1992, with responsibilities across all human resource services. Cavanaugh was also responsible for designing contemporary services in the areas of leadership development, temporary staffing, and human resource information systems.

“Rice represented a superb match between organizational needs and my interests and skill sets,” he said.

Prior to his tenure at Vanderbilt, Cavanaugh worked with AT&T in human resources in Washington, D.C. He holds a master’s in business administration from Belmont University in Nashville as well as master’s degrees from Vanderbilt and the University of Illinois-Chicago. He received his bachelor’s degree from Tusculum College in Greeneville, Tenn.

As director of human resources at Vanderbilt, which employs 14,000 and staffs a human resource department of 100, Cavanaugh reported to the vice chancellor of human resources. Though Rice’s work force of 2,600 is considerably smaller, Cavanaugh said some departmental approaches and strategies will be handled similarly.

As part of his initial assessment of Rice’s Human Resources operations, Cavanaugh said he is looking at all internal processes to identify areas for improvement. Referring to ideas he has in mind, he pointed to his chalkboard–chock-full with notes written in various colors of markers.

Of his short tenure at Rice thus far, Cavanaugh said, “The dedication and commitment of the current staff has been encouraging.”

Commenting on the university’s new strategic plan, he said, “Helping to support the vision that is articulated in implementing ‘Rice: The Next Century’ is truly an incredible opportunity.”

Cavanaugh was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and finished his high school years in Montgomery, N.Y., about two hours north of the city. He attended Tusculum on a four-year athletic scholarship in basketball. While basketball has taken a back seat for Cavanaugh, athletics haven’t. His sport of choice is now long-distance running.

In addition to his roles in human resources, Cavanaugh served as an adjunct faculty member at Belmont University’s School of Business, where he taught human resources courses. For the past seven summers he has taught at the College Business Management Institute at the University of Kentucky.

He has also lectured on contemporary issues in human resources at various universities across the country.

Cavanaugh’s family–wife Christie, daughters Brynn, 12, and Taryn, 9–recently joined him in Houston after selling their home in Nashville.