Wake Forest's Ellis Wins HR Award

Andrea Ellis (right), Wake Forest's director of professional and organizational development, received the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources 2012 HR Innovation Award for her role in creating the Professional Development Center. Ellis will received $3,000 to contribute to Wake Forest’s endowment or a scholarship of her choice.
The award honors human resource innovation, which can be technological in nature, based in process improvement, a novel partnership that advances the profession, or a new approach to an HR department’s current challenge. It must advance the human resource profession or contribute to the overall excellence of the profession.

Prior to the creation of the Professional Development Center there were limited opportunities for training and few options for professional development. Ellis began working to not only create more professional development programs, but also to centralize these programs in one location. The PDC debuted in March 2008.

Through the PDC web portal, professional development activities and programs for both faculty and staff are marketed through a single location, generating community across campus, decreasing duplication of efforts, encouraging collaboration between departments and reducing costs. The PDC has filled 40,000 seats with faculty, staff, students and community members; held 4,200 classes and events; and marketed 100 conferences.