UMass Chan selects incoming chief human resources officer

Photo I Courtesy of Patrick Gallagher Patrick Gallagher, incoming chief human resources officer at UMass Chan Medical School

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By Mica Kanner-Mascolo

UMass Chan Medical School has named Patrick Gallagher as the Worcester university’s new chief human resources officer.

Gallagher will assume his role as deputy executive vice chancellor, people strategy on June 30, according to a Tuesday press release from UMass Chan.

Gallagher’s hiring comes after the medical school entered into a hiring freeze earlier this year in preparation for looming federal cuts to National Institutes of Health funding that were expected to cost the university between $40 to $50 million annually. But since Gallagher is replacing a former chief human resources officer, his hiring does not imply a lift to the university’s employment freeze, Hayley Mignacca, media relations specialist at UMass Chan, told WBJ.

He succeeds Carolyn Brownawell, former deputy executive vice chancellor, human resources, who retired from her position in May, said Mignacca. The university knew of her upcoming retirement prior to instating its hiring suspension.

Gallagher comes to the Worcester school having most recently served as vice president of administrative services and chief administrative officer at Yeshiva University in New York City. In his previous capacity, he oversaw departments including human resources, facilities management, and information technology services for the Jewish institution’s 2,000 undergraduates and 3,500 graduate students.

With more than two decades of experience in human resources leadership, Gallagher has also worked as assistant vice provost of operations and support services at Weill Cornell Medicine, a New York City-based institution he worked at for 11 years.

He graduated from Eastern Michigan University with his bachelor's degree in political science and history and earned his master’s degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.