Cornell University has chosen University of Oregon human resources executive Mark Schmelz to oversee an employee workforce spanning its Ithaca, Geneva, New York City and Qatar campuses beginning Jan. 4, 2027.
Schmelz will become vice president and chief human resources officer, an appointment approved Nov. 9 by the Executive Committee of Cornell’s Board of Trustees, according to the Cornell Chronicle.
He will lead a team of 175 human resources staff serving more than 18,000 employees and 11 unions. His responsibilities will also include the Department of Inclusion and Belonging and the Cornell Office of Civil Rights.
Sean Moeller, who has held the position on an interim basis since Christine Lovely’s departure in 2025, will return to his role as associate vice president for human resources.
Transition during workforce restructuring
Schmelz arrives as Cornell restructures its workforce through Resilient Cornell. He said his initial priority will be listening to the university community, understanding changes already underway and assessing what comes next.
President Michael Kotlikoff said Schmelz would bring skilled, empathetic leadership to a complex workforce at a challenging time for higher education. He also thanked Moeller for his interim leadership.
Schmelz said experience in labor and employee relations has taught him to listen to groups with different viewpoints and understand their interests before identifying a path forward.
He said Cornell’s founding educational mission and the breadth of its research and impact helped draw him to the position.
Budget and enrollment pressures and changing technology all affect university employees, Schmelz said. His experience navigating the COVID-19 pandemic at Oregon reinforced the importance of supporting employees through personal and workplace changes so they can succeed in their jobs.
Nearly three decades in human resources
Schmelz has nearly 30 years of experience in the field. He has been Oregon’s chief human resources officer since 2019 and previously held the same role for the University of Maine System from 2017 to 2019.
At Oregon, he oversaw new employee programming during the pandemic and an overhaul of human resources strategy and infrastructure across decentralized units.
At Maine, he was a lead negotiator in collective bargaining with faculty, staff and police unions. Cornell said that work produced agreements and improved relationships. He also previously served as the Maine system’s director of labor and employee relations.
His earlier positions included labor relations manager for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and human resource analyst for the Pennsylvania governor’s Office of Administration and Department of Environmental Protection.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and public administration from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania in 1998.
Schmelz said the move also brings his family back to a familiar region after his years in Oregon. “It feels like coming home,” he said.
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