Dianna Cusick Receives Human Resources Award

Chief Human Resources Officer Dianna Cusick at Minneapolis Community and Technical College (Minneapolis College) was recognized recently for her outstanding accomplishments in collaborating within the institution as well as with other colleges and universities to develop best practices for Human Resources.

Cusick was selected by Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to receive this year's Human Resources All-Star Award.*

As 130 colleagues applauded her accomplishments, Cusick accepted the award at the 2017 Minnesota State Human Resources Fall Conference in Brainerd, Minnesota on September 28. Cusick and two others were selected to receive this biennial, statewide award. When asked about the experience of being chosen for the award, Cusick said, "I felt honored, very honored."

According to Minneapolis College President Sharon Pierce, "Dianna has demonstrated exceptional leadership in accomplishing major projects that will positively affect the future of the College, its students, staff and faculty. She has contributed significantly to advancing competency-based hiring practices and working with the Minnesota State Transformational Human Resources Planning Team to ensure consistency across the statewide enterprise."

Pierce cites recent progress made in breaking down barriers to hiring more diverse and better-qualified employees as an initiative led by Cusick. Minneapolis College's approach using competency-based hiring rather than credential-based hiring has resulted in an increase in hiring and retaining diverse candidates. This approach has been identified as a best practice across multiple industries and state borders. Cusick has been asked to present this innovative model for other Human Resources staff to benchmark at several organizations including:

• The University of Minnesota
• Moorhead State University and Minnesota State Community and Technical College
• Century College
• The Minnesota College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
• The Science Museum of Minnesota
• Upper Midwest Higher Education Recruitment Consortium

"No individual award is actually about any one individual," Cusick added. "This is a shared award that recognizes the efforts of Minneapolis College's extremely talented Human Resources team."

Additional achievements noted in Cusick's award nomination form include crediting her work in MCTC becoming a leader in equity and inclusion as well as transforming the student experience by providing experiential learning through on-campus employment. More work underway in the Human Resources Division will automate processes, implement a conflict resolution program for employees and launch a comprehensive professional development program.

* Pictured at top: Mark Carlson, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources at Minnesota State congratulates Dianna Cusick on being chosen for the All-Star Award.