Dana Bradley departed GW earlier this fall after serving for two years as the University’s first chief people officer, where she managed an overhaul of GW’s human resources division and a controversial initiative to improve institutional culture.
Bradley – who arrived at GW in July 2019 – began as Silver Cross Hospital’s vice president of human resources this October, according to a hospital release. Sabrina Coleman-Minor, the assistant vice president of HR Business Partners, now serves as GW’s interim chief people officer as the timeline for appointing a permanent head remains unclear.
“I am honored to join Silver Cross Hospital; a nationally recognized, mission-focused organization with patient care at the heart of all they do,” Bradley said in an email.
The role will bring Bradley back to her hometown of Chicago. She had worked at Northwestern University before coming to GW.
Officials did not publicly announce Bradley’s departure but updated GW’s leadership webpage to reflect the change.
A University spokesperson did not return a request for comment.
“Bradley brings more than 25 years of broad-based leadership experience and demonstrated success in transforming human resource functions to her new role,” the hospital said in the release.
Bradley arrived as GW’s first chief people officer as part of University President Thomas LeBlanc’s effort to improve institutional culture. The initiative, which was paused in October 2020, had been met with mixed reviews from faculty.
Before Bradley’s arrival, LeBlanc began taking steps to improve employee morale by giving employees the full week off between Christmas and New Years Day and revamping employee orientation. Officials also partnered with the Disney Institute as part of the initiative.
The push sparked an overhaul of GW’s human resources department, including the creation of the chief people officer position, and the development of a culture framework that officials touted would “put people first.”
Officials held in-person training sessions open to all faculty and staff in fall 2019 to introduce the framework, but many expressed frustration with the initiative, saying it treated GW as a corporation rather than a university. Hundreds of faculty cited the initiative in their calls for LeBlanc to resign last fall.
