WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Cheryl E. H. Locke, a career human resources professional and innovator, has been named the new vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, beginning Oct. 20.
This is a new position, created following the restructuring of the Medical Center in 2007, that will be responsible for human resources functions of both North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences.
Locke has been the chief human resources officer for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) since January 2005, where she had responsibility for all university and hospital human resources services and programs. She is recognized for “reinventing” human resources at UAB, providing staff and faculty with significantly enhanced customer service and consultation on all human resources issues.
“At Wake Forest Baptist, we see an opportunity to improve the quality and efficiency of our services by having a single vice president lead the HR activities of both of the two component institutions,” said Doug Edgeton, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Wake Forest University Health Sciences.
Donny Lambeth, chief operating officer and interim president of Baptist Hospital, said, “By being more streamlined, we can be more competitive and offer better services and benefits to our employees. We are very fortunate to have a top-flight HR professional and innovator such as Cheryl Locke as our new HR vice president.”
Locke is a graduate of Brown University, and her human resources experience also includes Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston), University Medical Center (Jacksonville, Fla.), Bell Atlantic (Arlington, Va.) and American Express (Jacksonville, Fla.). Locke and her husband, Ron, will be relocating to Winston-Salem in October.
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Media Contacts: Mark Wright, mwright@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-3382; Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4587.