Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) announced today that Lauren A. Turner, PhD, an accomplished administrator in public and private higher education, as well as educator and researcher, will join the university February 1, 2022, as senior vice president of Talent & Inclusion. Turner is currently senior associate vice chancellor for human resources and organizational strategy & effectiveness at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
“Lauren Turner brings to WPI an impressive array of experience, having worked in and achieved increasingly responsible human resource management, diversity, and strategy roles in higher education over many years, while providing broad service to the academy, continuing her own education and research, and educating the next generation of human resource professionals,” said WPI President Laurie Leshin. “She joins WPI at a pivotal moment as we launch Lead With Purpose, a new strategic plan that has us pushing boundaries in such critical areas as student well-being and access, purpose-driven education and research, and shaping a culture of belonging and inclusion in alignment with WPI’s values. To achieve our ambitious goals requires recruiting, retaining, developing, and supporting best-in-class faculty and staff whose diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives effectively serve our excellent and diverse student body.”