September 19, 2007
Darlene Lewis named senior vice president for human resources
Darlene Lewis, PhD
Darlene Lewis, PhD, has been appointed senior vice president for human resources at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital and research center in Boston. She will help guide hiring, retention, employee relations, and professional development policies for a staff of roughly 3,300, including caregivers, scientists, administrators, and support employees.
Lewis currently serves as vice president and chief human resources officer at the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she oversees employee relations functions for the organization's 9,300 staff members. She plans to begin her new position at Dana-Farber the first week of November.
"We are fortunate and pleased to welcome Darlene to Dana-Farber, where she will help lead our efforts to create an ideal work environment," said Janet Porter, PhD, executive vice president and chief operating officer. "She has prospered at several top academic medical centers, and we look forward to her energy, enthusiasm and experience here."
Prior to joining the University of Chicago Medical Center in 2002, Lewis served as associate vice chancellor, human resources, at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center in Nashville. She held a similar position at the University of Pittsburgh from 1994 to 1996 and was vice president for human resources at the University's Magee-Women's Hospital from 1990 to 1994.
"I am excited about the joining Dana-Farber team of staff, faculty and patients working to reduce the impact and burden of cancer," Lewis said. "It's a special place with a very important mission."
Accepting this role represents a return to Massachusetts for Lewis, who served as the deputy commissioner of Administration and Finance for three years in the Dukakis administration. She also worked in the 1980s as a corporate human resource manager for Tandon Corporation in California and as an office systems specialist with Johnson and Higgins in Japan.
Lewis earned a PhD in organizational development from Benedictine University in 2007. She also holds an MS degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a BA from San Diego State University. A California native, Lewis has been active in a wide range of community and professional organizations.
She was chosen for the Dana-Farber position after an extensive search process that included interviews with more than a dozen staff and leaders at the Institute and a public presentation that was web cast to all employees. Lewis succeeds Emily Barclay, who left Dana-Farber after many years of service.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
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