Elevating and Investing in Your Gonzaga Experience
“He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor.”
– St. Ignatius of Loyola
Ray Kliewer
Impactful change begins by first reflecting on who you are and your current state - identifying the areas in which you are achieving and the areas in which you would like to transform. We see this within our campus community as areas adopt new approaches and systems to respond to long-standing and new needs. We see this extending beyond our campus as Gonzaga takes important stances on rapidly changing political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental landscapes which directly and indirectly impact our campus. This time of uncertainty is felt by everyone in our community, and now more than ever, it is vital that we live our mission and the purpose it sets-forth for Gonzaga, our aspirations for who we want to be as outlined in our strategic plan, and the core beliefs that are the heart of our values. A crucial part of this embodiment is identifying the areas in which we are stagnant and actioning refinements.
In 2022, HR began an internal journey of transformation, which began by analyzing how we were contributing to campus partnerships, how our offerings were responding to and meeting campus needs, and how we were representing the tenets of
From our beginning state to our present state, we have instituted large-scale, high impact projects geared at modernizing HR offerings to better respond to our changing landscape, meet institutional needs, and improve the employee experience. Some of these projects include revising the new employee onboarding process, enhancing our Essentials for Supervisors Series and adopting new supervisor trainings, balancing the cost-pressures impacting the pharmaceutical and medical industries to continue offering top-tier benefits, strengthening our staff compensation practices by formulating a new career framework grounded in market data, and transitioning from PeopleAdmin to PageUp – a system better equipped to meet our needs and improve the user experience. Amid all of this, we reorganized our internal structure to fine-tune how we engage with campus and the services we offer.
While many of our projects are ongoing, every day we are seeing and hearing of the positive impact of this work. Campus partners have consistently noted a palpable shift in their relationships with HR and how these evolving efforts are addressing long-standing
Team Structure
Ray Kliewer Vice President, Human Resources
Alysha Terrell
Admin Assistant & Budget Officer
HR Operations
Lisa Schwartzenburg AVP, HR Operations
Kayla Lantgios Benefits Manager
Rachel Maddox Benefits Specialist II
Michael De Vitis
Benefits Specialist II
Shelby Hurn
Benefits Specialist II
Luis Delgado
Benefits Specialist II
Stacey Harrison Administrative Assistant
Bri Grant HRIS Analyst
Kameron Lane HR Analyst
KaLee Quanz FXD HR Operations
The HR Organization Chart can be viewed as a PDF
Welcoming New Faces
Compensation
Kelly Hayward Compensation Analyst
Kelsey Gregory Compensation Analyst
Kaylen Carlson Communication Specialist
Employee Experience
Jamie Jamieson Tancrell AVP, Employee Experience
Andrea LaPlant Director, Colleague Relations
Traci Logan-Demus HR Partner
Tina Luerssen HR Partner
Visit the HR contact page on myGU for support!
Mike Wright Learning & Development Manager
Lauren Cox Learning & Development Specialist
Emily Waples Learning & Development Specialist
Sean Walsh HR Specialist
In academic year 2024-25 the HR team added many talented, creative, and committed team members who embody our Gonzaga Mission. Their unique experiences and skills have added so much to our Zag community, and we are thrilled they decided to bring their gifts to Gonzaga.
Shelby Hurn Benefits Specialist II
Rachel Maddox Benefits & Leaves Specialist II
Transforming from OD to L&D
Sean Walsh HR Specialist
Mike Wright Learning & Development Manager
Lauren Cox Learning & Development Specialist
Emily Waples Learning & Development Specialist
Tina Luerssen HR Partner
Michael De Vitis Benefits & Leaves Specialist
Kameron Lane HR Analyst
We believe employee success and retention thrives through continuous growth, development, and learning. Being part of a learning institution gives our community a unique advantage to invest in and engage with a variety of enriching opportunities that benefit both individuals and Gonzaga as a whole. To further enhance this commitment, we have initiated a strategic transformation of evolving our Organizational Development area into the new and dynamic Learning & Development team!
This exciting change empowers our team to connect more directly with employees and leaders, offering high-quality learning and development opportunities tailored to individual and departmental needs. Meet our new Learning & Development team in the upcoming section, “Redefining Learning & Development.” We are eager to see the incredible impact this team will have on fostering growth, development, and learning across our university community. Let's celebrate this new chapter together!
Relaunching Employee Wellness
At Gonzaga University, providing effective and intentional wellness offerings for staff and faculty that prioritize the physical, mental, financial, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of our employees aligns with our value of cura personalis. This mentality of care for the whole person drives our initiatives, offerings, and strategy when it comes to employee wellness.
This academic year, we strengthened our commitment to employee wellness by transitioning from the Health Advocate platform to EmpowerLinc for our ZAGFit program. ZAGFit is a voluntary initiative designed to support Gonzaga employees and their families in enhancing their health and well-being. Through ZAGFit, employees can access valuable resources including nutrition support, stress management tools, fitness enhancement opportunities, and holistic health coaching via online courses, webinars, and on-demand videos.
EmpowerLinc provides employees with expanded access to a diverse range of activities, programs, and personalized coaching, ensuring their wellness needs remain a priority. It also integrates SupportLinc, our mental health partner.
Prioritizing Mental Health
Mental health continues to be a critical focus, with nearly 80% of adults experiencing some degree of difficulty in work, home, or social settings due to symptoms of depression (CDC, 2018). In 2024, employees accessed over 2,000 service interactions through SupportLinc. Our community's usage of mental health services illustrates a need to remain current on the various ways employees access support.
Enhanced resources are available through SupportLinc and Kinwell:
◦ SupportLinc now offers Mindstream, a platform featuring live and on-demand sessions on mental health topics. Additionally, anonymous group therapy sessions allow employees to discuss their struggles openly in a respectful and supportive environment.
◦ Kinwell provides various group classes and primary care sessions covering anxiety, depression, workplace stress, and other mental health concerns.
Please reach out to our Benefits team (benefits@gonzaga.edu) for more information of these offerings as we are here to support you!
The Gonzaga community gathered to write the names of the Undergraduate class of 2028 on the Bulldog Board.
Photo by Zach Berlat
Join us for Staff and Faculty fitness classes at the Rudolf Fitness Center! Photo by Chrishone Wilson
Strengthening Emotional and Physical Well-Being
In 2025, HR placed renewed emphasis on employee emotional and physical well-being through these wellness offerings:
Wellness Wednesdays
A relaxed, social gathering designed to foster connection and community. Employees can enjoy lunch with their departments or campus partners at a reduced cost thanks to a partnership with Sodexo.
Teladoc
24/7 Personalized Care— anytime, anywhere take control of your health with convenient, whole-person care for chronic conditions like weight management, diabetes, and hypertension. Get access to general medical support from the comfort of your home—day or night. Ready to begin? Visit your benefits page on myGU for more details.
Investing in employee wellness is not only focused on the individual but commits to better supporting the wellness of our University community as a whole. By prioritizing holistic health — physical, mental, and emotional — we continue to build a workplace culture that values and supports employee well-being. We encourage you to check out these resources to invest in your overall wellness!
Staff and Faculty Fitness Classes
Fitness classes led by qualified instructors through the Rudolf Fitness Center include: Yang Yoga, TRX, Spin, Bootcamp, Aqua Fit, and Dance. Check out these offerings that provide an opportunity to get a workout in and build connections with colleagues. Keep an eye out in HR Connections for future classes.
Redefining Learning & Development
At Gonzaga, our commitment to our learning extends beyond the classroom and professional skills as we also aim to develop the whole person – mind, body, and spirit. To accomplish this goal, Human Resources has restructured Organizational Development (OD) into Learning & Development (L&D).
Investing in employee’s development is critical in helping us as individuals and as a collective university grow and adapt in a constantly changing professional environment. This work facilitates developing new skills and enhances performance, professionally and personally.
Our new employee onboarding has been redesigned to capture the
critical information while creating engagement and community.
Photo by Chrishone Wilson
Enhanced Focus on Employee Growth: Organizational Development focused on analyzing and developing the organizational structure, while Learning & Development will focus on employee growth and learning. This shift yields a bigger impact by dedicating time to development and leveraging community resources for structural work.
Inclusive Learning Opportunities: By focusing on employee development and learning, we can create a more inclusive environment that caters to the diverse needs of our community. This includes offering specialized training programs for various roles, such as budget officers and program assistants, ensuring that everyone has access to the resources they need to succeed.
Strategic Leadership Development: The new L&D team will implement a campus-wide leadership development program that will equip existing and aspiring leaders with the skills necessary to lead effectively. This strategic focus on leadership will help build a strong foundation for future growth and success.
Meet the Team
Mike Wright
Learning & Development Manager
Maximizer/Communicator/Relator
Mike has a military training background, is a father of eight, and a wannabe outdoorsman and axe maker.
Lauren Cox
Learning & Development Specialist
Relator/Developer/Activator
Lauren thrives on connecting with others, spending time with her husband and two kids, and homesteading.
Emily Waples
Learning & Development Specialist
Strategic/Empathy/Ideation
Emily enjoys finding thrifted treasures, spending time with her two golden retrievers, and tackling house projects.
Creating dedicated moments of connection and reflection are are key elements of effective learning and development.
Photo
by Zach Berlat
A New Approach to Leadership Development
“We will use connection and collaboration to build relationships and identify training needs, then address them with relevant, adaptive, and engaging learning experiences for staff and employees.” - Mike Wright
The new Learning & Development (L&D) team will take a strategic approach to growth by delivering tailored development opportunities for supervisors, aspiring leaders, and all employees, aligning learning with organizational goals and future readiness.
Continuation & Improvement of Existing Training
The L&D team will continue to lead and support current training offerings including the:
◦ Essentials for Supervision series
◦ New Supervisor Training
◦ New Employee Onboarding series
These offerings will be part of a more comprehensive and connected lifecycle of employee development, and L&D will review participant feedback to understand ways to continuously improve these offerings for our employees. An example: Feedback from the Essentials for Supervision series (ESS) showed that supervisors wanted to be able to select elements of their learning at these sessions. As a result, the most recent ESS sessions offered breakout rooms and allowed supervisors to choose which sessions best fit their needs and desires to grow.
These improvements will also include a continuation of a campus-wide leadership needs assessment to evaluate current capabilities and inform future development strategies.
Connections
New Initiatives
L&D plans to build a more robust onboarding experience and provide specialized skills training to various roles, including budget officers, program assistants, and more. Department-tailored programming will addresses specific internal challenges that teams may face, such as trust-building, effective communication, and conflict management.
The L&D team is collaborating with campus partners on initiatives that touch both faculty, those that supervise students, and alumni as well. Some of these collaborations include the Center for Lifelong Learning webinars, faculty professional development and search committee training, student orientation and leader training, and risk & compliance training, just to name a few.
Together in this work, we will create an engaged learning and development culture that will continue to innovate, feel connected to the work, embrace our mission, and invest in
Learning Management System - PageUp
L&D will be working on developing a new Learning Management System (LMS) to assign, complete, and track training for the entire employee lifecycle all in one place.
New Key System Features
• Learning offerings and resources centralized for employee convenience.
• An engaged and customizable learning experience.
• Track progress and completion through an individual "transcript" of completed GU learning/development sessions.
For more information on this upcoming Learning Management System, visit the PageUp Project webpage on myGU
Project Connections
This year, Human Resources focused on finding ways to continue raising the standard of support provided to you, our staff and faculty. Every employee plays a noteworthy role in Gonzaga's success, and it is HR's mission to ensure we are supporting each employee, leader, and team in a way that allows them to fully prosper.
This work has taken place through three projects aimed at supporting you in managing your career: the Career Framework, PageUp Software Implementation, and Total Rewards. Each of these projects are connected, and it is this connectivitiy that is driving our strategy execution.
PageUp Implementation Project
The PageUp Implementation Project will support four areas of the employee experience (lifecycle):
1. Recruit prospective candidates
2. Onboard our new employees
3. Support employees in their learning and development
4. Foster growth through performance management
For you as an employee, this new system will support you when you apply for a position, your experience through the interview process, and beginning your onboarding as a new employee.
Additionally, whether you are looking to move up in your current department, move into a new one, or are content in your current role, PageUp will provide opportunities to grow your experience and knowledge with the new performance management process and learning management system as you manage your career.
Project Metrics
PageUp
Average Time to Fill a Position (Days)
PeopleAdmin 74 2024 P 51 ageUp (Feb-Jun 2025)
Incomplete/Unsubmitted Applications P 20% eopleAdmin 2024 P 9% ageUp (Feb-Jun 2025)
Career Framework
Staff Roles Connected to Market Benchmarks 100%
Total Rewards
1,380
Total Rewards Statements Distributed
PageUp Candidate Feedback
It was easy to navigate and return to. For multiple transcripts, I only saw two places for single uploads.
- PageUp Candidate
As a foreign applicant, I am truly happy because of equal opportunity. The application platform is easy to navigate, and this gave strong hope for every applicant equipped with the relevant
Career Framework Project
The Career Framework has made meaningful progress over the last academic year. This project aims to provide staff employees with the ability to more easily access information on staff jobs and empower individual career growth. Progress towards implementation in the past year include:
1. Formalizing our market pricing methodology and updating staff salary ranges, in alignment with market standards and best practices.
2. Implementing a mid-cycle process that is the focal point for putting forth any requests for in-range salary increases or promotions for staff positions.
3. Completing initial mapping of staff employees to the career framework Job Profiles.
4. Implementing feedback from stakeholders and advisory group members to ensure the Career Framework meets the university’s needs.
The Career Framework Project will include a tool that allows staff members to see the library of staff jobs that exist to better understand potential opportunities for their career path at Gonzaga University. The library of staff jobs will include more transparent information necessary for understanding what skills may be needed for other roles. This will be a critical tool to help you manage your career at GU.
Total Rewards Project
Shared Project Values
These three projects complement each other in an effort to advance our HR Strategy and the university as a whole. While these projects intersect in process, they also intersect in terms of shared values and goals that drive our decision making and ultimately the success of our strategy execution.
These overlapping values can be seen below.
Total Rewards aligns with the Career Framework to provide increased transparency and insight for employees into the multitude of ways you are compensated at Gonzaga. Total Rewards Statements break down this compensation on an individual level for each employee. You can view your Total Rewards Statement in your benefits portal
Having a transparent view into how you are compensated and the benefits provided to you as an employee are a key factor to assist you to manage your career and make choices that best suit your individual needs.
Where this work will impact you
The Foundation to success starts with having effective, efficient, and high-quality HR Operations. This includes providing top-tier benefits and wellness offerings that support the physical, mental, financial, emotional, and spiritual wellness of our employees. The next element is efficient, accurate daily transactions involving HR Data and Systems processes as they maintain record of our employees’ position information and changes. These are the building blocks for our operations to be successful.
Candidate: Your first interaction with HR as a prospective employee is with our PageUp talent management software for your application, recruitment, hiring, and onboarding process. PageUp offers prospective and current employees an improved user experience for and engagement with prospective candidates.
Employee Development:
PageUp, the Career Framework, and Total Rewards will continue to support you in your performance, growth, and development as an employee at Gonzaga. Each of these elements culminate into you being able to manage your career that fits your career aspirations and goals.
Project Connections - Employee Experience
These three projects interact with you as an employee throughout your time at Gonzaga to assist you in managing your career.
This graphic can be viewed as a PDF
Career Management
The Career Framework will help you to understand the staff jobs that exist at the university and what is required for you to move to a new area or specialty. This empowers employees to pursue a career pathway that is unique to their goals and interests.
PageUp will support employees in growing necessary skills for career growth through its learning management module and performance feedback will be streamlined through PageUp’s performance management system.
This is an example of how someone may navigate and change directions throughout their career. To assist in this management, you can utilize these HR projects to help you navigate your career journey. This graphic can be viewed as a PDF
Finally, our Total Rewards provides you with a transparent view into how you are compensated and the benefits provided to you as an employee in your current role or in a new one. This information will assist you in making choices that best suit your individual needs. We are excited to see the impact that this future work can have on the GU community by creating tools and processes aimed to support you in your career journey.
Career Management Lattice
Recognition Achievements & Awards
Sharing Expertise
In April this year, members from our HR team attended the 2025 CUPA-HR conference to engage other HR professionals in higher-ed in the areas of compensation, policy, development, etc. At this conference, our Compensation team of Kelly Hayward and Kelsey Gregory presented on the topic of Adapting Pay Practices to Compete Across Various Labor Markets and were able to share their expertise implementing the Career Framework project. Also at this conference, Ray Kliewer, Vice President for HR, was part of a panel of other HR leaders in higher-ed to discuss the current challenges in the HR landscape and the importance of mission driven HR strategy.
In March, Lisa Schwartzenburg presented at the Pensions and Investments East Coast Conference on the work the Benefits team has done in the Gonzaga Target Date Fund, plan transition, and employee education around retirement.
Awards and Recognition
Gonzaga University was selected as the 2025 Plan Sponsor of the Year and was awarded first place at the Eddy Awards. The Eddy Award recognized GU for the retirement plan transition to the Gonzaga Target Date Fund and the intentional change management efforts for the transition. The Plan Sponsor of Year award recognized Gonzaga for the creation of the Target Date Fund and intensive learning initatives centered around individual retirement needs. Both awards also recognized Gonzaga's approach to retirement being mission-driven by supporting the whole person’s financial stability and wellness. Read more about our Benefits team’s first place win at the Eddy Awards on GU Stories and Plan Sponsor of the Year win on HR Connections.
These awards would not have been possible without the work of our Gonzaga staff and faculty. It was because of your efforts going into the TIAA system to complete elections, meeting with advisors, updating beneficiaries, and looking to learn more that allowed this transition project to be so successful.
Thank you to our Student Employees!
Our student employees are a critical component to the success of our team! Their dedication and support have been instrumental to our department and we are honored to have them aboard.
Our student employees have been engaged in our project work of transitioning from PeopleAdmin to PageUp by downloading historical applicant data from our PeopleAdmin system (over 13,000 resumes), including 11 years worth of historical employee reviews from the Professional Development Annual Cycle. This work is critical to ensure an effective transition between systems. While this included tedious work with high attention to detail, the students brought such positive attitudes and were able to complete the projects quickly and effectively. We continue to thank them and the work of all student employees across campus for their ongoing hard work this year!
GU was awarded the first place award at the Eddy Awards presented by Pensions & Investments.
Photo by Mike Wright
Looking Forward
For this next academic year, we look to continue implementing new initatives to meet our strategic goals.
Phase II & III – Performance Management, Learning and Development
Phase II and III of the PageUp project aims to create effective processes and an intentional user experience for managing and engaging in performance management and employee learning.
HR is currently developing the new performance management system in PageUp, aligning with employee feedback, feedback from participants of the ZagChats pilot, and standard practices for performance management processes. This means moving away from our current Professional Development Annual Cycle process and instead integrating an ongoing check-in process focused on reflection, growth, and feedback. Performance management and employee development are both essential to organizational success. Our new performance management system will strike a thoughtful balance between accountability and growth, ensuring employees are supported in achieving goals while continuously developing their skills and potential. Updates for this phase of the project will be coming in future communications so please keep an eye out for those updates and also prepare to engage in this new process of feedback, growth, development, and celebrating accomplishments!
The final element of this project is creating the first Learning Management System (LMS). In our current state, learning offerings from all around the university can be found in a variety of places, and this can create difficultly for employees who want to find ways to develop certain skills or learn something new. Implementing an LMS will allow staff and faculty to manage, track, and complete learning and development offerings all in one place.
Career Framework Implementation
The Compensation team is currently vetting all staff positions with area leaders to confirm each position is assigned to the appropriate career structure, job, and level in the Career Framework. In the fall, HR plans to hold training for supervisors and all staff on how to use the Career Framework to build a meaningful career path at GU. Implementation is currently planned for Q1 2026.
We are excited to see the ways that this project can improve our efficiencies, ease the administrative burdens for our supervisors and hiring managers, and create an engaged and intuitive user experience for employees!
Staying Connected
You may have noticed this past academic year, you began to received our new weekly newsletter HR Connections in your email inbox. HR Connections (HRC) aims to be your go-to source for professional growth, personal development, benefits and wellness information, supervisor tools, and HR updates all in one place. To keep up with information on our projects/initatives, learning offerings, and more please continue to check out and engage with HRC!
As we look to the next academic year, we aim to continue to empower our employees, strive to innovate, and integrate and uphold our university mission and Institutional Work Values. This new year looks to bring many new offerings and opportunities to improve our processes and practices to overall better the employee experience for you. We are excited to see what the next academic year holds for our department and the Gonzaga Community!
