Message from Interim Chancellor Guskiewicz and Provost Blouin on Felicia Washington
Vice Chancellor Felicia Washington is leaving Carolina to assume a new post as senior vice president for human resources at the University of Southern California.
Dear Carolina Community:
It is with mixed emotions that we write to let you know that Vice Chancellor Felicia Washington is leaving Carolina to assume a new post as senior vice president for human resources at the University of Southern California. Throughout her tenure, Felicia has been an earnest and steadfast advocate for Carolina’s students, faculty and staff, and a dedicated colleague, friend and counselor to so many beyond the two of us. Her impact on our campus will continue long after her departure.
Since joining the University in 2014, Felicia has helped lead us through some of the most pressing challenges in Carolina’s history. Namely, she was a key leader in the NCAA and Wainstein investigations; the comprehensive redesign, development and implementation of a new Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Related Misconduct; and the related resolution with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights on the University’s Title IX program. She helped lead the reframing of the Office for Diversity and Inclusion and brought the CEO Action Unconscious Bias Bus Tour to campus earlier this year. Additionally, she has been instrumental in efforts to grow the capacity of the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office and Office of Human Resources teams, and a key driver in bringing together central and campus human resources personnel to tackle the challenges of improving the search and hiring processes and bettering the systems we use to do our work.
Felicia has worked tirelessly to make Carolina a place driven by a culture of respect, engagement and inclusion, all the while assuring the University’s compliance with federal, state and UNC System policies. She has provided invaluable advice and counsel to the administration, the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and students and local and national organizations.
A 1987 graduate of Carolina, Felicia earned her juris doctorate from the University of Virginia School of Law. Prior to her service at UNC-Chapel Hill, she was a partner in the Charlotte Office of K&L Gates LLP, a global law firm, integrating that firm’s predecessor, Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman in 1990. The list of legal and community boards she has served includes the Board of Trustees at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Board of Governors of the North Carolina Bar Association, and the North Carolina Medical Board.
The Division of Workforce Strategy, Equity and Engagement will be led in the interim by Becci Menghini, senior associate vice chancellor. Becci joined Carolina in 2015 and brings a wealth of experience to this role at an important time for our University. We have full confidence in her ability to oversee the University’s strategic initiatives as part of the leadership team and are grateful that she has agreed to serve until a new vice chancellor is hired.
Felicia will leave UNC-Chapel Hill at the end of the academic year. In the meantime, please join us in thanking her for her dedication and accomplishments. Her passion and love for Carolina will no doubt inform her work at USC, and we wish her the very best.
Sincerely,
Kevin M. Guskiewicz
Interim Chancellor
Robert A. Blouin
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
