Since “graduating” from her job as the chief human resource officer at Harvard University in 2004, Polly has created an international portfolio of consulting, teaching, and speaking engagements based on her demonstrated expertise with such complex higher education human resource and administration issues as management effectiveness, pension/health care concerns, and workforce planning. She also serves as an executive coach for higher education administrators, especially individuals making the transition from a corporate life to a university position, and has written and spoken extensively on this often difficult and baffling change.
As the chief human resource officer at Harvard University from 1996 to 2004, Polly was responsible for strategic human resource planning for Harvard’s 15,000 employees, and for the oversight of operations and programs of the Office for Human Resources (150 staff; $17 million operational budget), including benefits administration, labor and employee relations, compensation, communications, employment, training, and information management systems. Before accepting leadership for University-wide human resource leadership, Polly served as associate dean for human resources for their Faculty of Arts and Sciences and as associate dean for administration for Harvard’s Graduate School of Design. Prior to working at Harvard, she was executive director of the Cultural Education Collaborative, a Massachusetts-wide not-for-profit organization.
A graduate of Smith College, cum laude, Polly also received the Master of Arts in Teaching from Harvard University. She has earned the designation Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society for Human Resource Management. Recent volunteer commitments include service on the Education as an Industry Team of the Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, the Board of Directors of the Boston Consortium for Higher Education, the Division of Human Resources Advisory Board of Carnegie Mellon University, and the Alumni Board of Visitors of Moorestown Friends School.
