Yohna Chambers, vice chancellor and chief human resources officer at Texas Christian University, has been named the new chair of the TIAA Advisory Council, a forum for TIAA’s institutional clients to provide advice and feedback on key initiatives, network, and discuss topics of mutual interest and exchange best practices.
Chambers’ term begins immediately and runs through 2022. As TIAA council chair, she will collaborate with the firm to develop council meeting agendas and content, as well as facilitate each of the group’s three in-person meetings each year, currently virtual due to COVID-19.
Chambers looks forward to leading the council and discussing relevant topics. “Higher education institutions, both public and private, are experiencing a number of challenges because of COVID-19,” she said. “Many CHROs and CFOs are managing the impacts of budget reductions, an increasing retirement-eligible workforce, and campus communities (students and employees) that need higher levels of mental health and well-being support from their universities.”
Chambers joined Texas Christian University in July 2016. With three decades of experience in higher education that include a record of innovative and strategic leadership accomplishments, she leads the ongoing transformation of TCU’s human resources team. She has held senior human resources positions at Virginia Tech, James Madison University, the Medical University of South Carolina and Mississippi State University. She is a regular presenter at national and regional conferences for the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources and is regarded as a revolutionary leader among her peers.
Chambers earned an undergraduate degree in home economics from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Mississippi State University, and is a doctoral candidate at Baylor University in learning and organizational change.
“It is an honor to serve my higher education colleagues as chair of the TIAA Advisory Council. The competence, creativity, and commitment of this council are inspiring. The council’s diversity of thought, composition, and years of experience generate meaningful discussions for innovation and solutions,” Chambers said.