Close Up
Bowen helps make UB a great workplace
Among Jennifer Bowen’s accomplishment in Human Resources are the Great Place to Work initiative and the creation of the Office of Wellness and Work/Life Balance. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI
Jennifer Bowen speculates that there are more employees at UB who are alumni than at any other university in the country—a phenomenon, she feels, that instills a greater built-in sense of pride in the institution. Bowen has an inside perspective on this. Besides being an alumna, she has been closely involved with the work force here during the past 11 years—and helping to change the face of human resources in the process.
A 1997 graduate of the Law School, the associate vice president for human resources worked in litigation for several Buffalo law firms before returning to her alma mater two years later as associate director for employee relations.
“It was an attractive opportunity to come here and serve in a different non-traditional legal role,” she relates. “At the time, you didn’t see a lot of lawyers in that field, but now it’s very common, especially in the employee and labor relations area. It was great to join an organization where you could really make an impact and have a more direct influence over the policy and direction of the institution.”
The area of employee relations, for which she eventually became director, gave her a broad perspective of UB. “It’s probably a better view from there than almost anywhere else on campus because you’re dealing with people, our greatest asset,” she notes. “Over the years, we’ve really worked hard to make this a positive, productive work environment for employees and also a place where we want to be reasonable and resolve issues. Today, it’s an office that doesn’t so much deal with grievances and cases as much as it concentrates on proactively solving problems.”
Bowen was closely involved in the HR Transformation initiative that began as a result of the UB 2020 strategic planning effort. “We wanted to change what had previously been a process-driven organization to something that delivered real and meaningful value to the people who work here,” she says. “I was basically given a blank slate to create something and build it from the ground up, something innovative and progressive.”
That blank slate resulted in the development of the Great Place to Work initiative and a number of strategic HR services, including the Office of Wellness and Work/Life Balance.
Great Place to Work brought events and programs aimed at improving the workplace, among them UB CORE, a volunteer program to allow employees to become involved in community projects, and a recognition program to better appreciate employee contributions.
Such workplace initiatives have been present in the corporate world, but very few higher education institutions have made such a dedicated effort. “UB was ahead of the curve in Great Place to Work. It’s been exciting—for three years we’ve been recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the best colleges to work for in the country. We have a lot more work to do, but we’ve certainly made a lot of good progress,” says Bowen.
That progress includes the addition of employee wellness and work/life balance services and programs intended to enrich the work life and health and well-being of faculty and staff, as well as expansion of the Employee Assistance Program from a small, volunteer-run effort to a strong campus resource with highly qualified staff.
“My time was mainly spent creating and building the framework, launching and getting momentum for all of those programs. You don’t get the opportunity to do that very often in your career,” Bowen says. “As part of our work in the HR Transformation, we have won both local and national awards for best HR practices. It’s a completely different organization than what it was when I came here 11 years ago.”
She assumed a new role in July in addition to her HR duties when she was appointed senior adviser to the president. “I’ll be providing advice and counsel on the major issues facing the campus, and helping define strategies and plans for the future, given all the issues and challenges in today’s landscape,” she says. “My HR role has prepared me well for this.”
The Grand Island native had been a political science undergraduate at SUNY Brockport before deciding to pursue law. “I never had the mindset that I would be a lawyer for the rest of my career,” she says. “The Law School gave me a great background and training for everything I’ve done in my career.”
Bowen’s sunny disposition is an essential element in the world of human resources. “My role is to find smart and strategic ways to accomplish your goals, not to just point out barriers and tell you what you can’t do,” she observes. “You’ve got to be a positive person to look at things that way.”
Bowen balances her substantial workload with her duties as mother to her 5-year-old son, Andrew, who is about to enter kindergarten after full-time attendance at UB’s Child Care Center.
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