Duckett was selected from a pool of nearly 30 candidates following a nationwide search. The appointment was made at the Regents' regularly scheduled May 7 meeting, which was conducted by teleconference.
Duckett, 45, previously served as vice president for human resources at Heinz North America, a 25,000-employee enterprise with $4 billion in annual revenue. During his tenure at Heinz, his responsibilities included aligning day-to-day human resources operations in support of business unit strategies, developing performance management programs, overseeing business unit compensation programs and leading talent management initiatives. His other accomplishments included establishing a strategic labor relations approach, creating a new training and development organization, and expanding the company's succession planning and executive development efforts.
From 2003 to 2005, Duckett was vice president for human resources, customer service and retail operations, for AT&T/Cingular Wireless in Redmond, Wash., and Dallas. The two-company merger was announced a few months after Duckett was appointed and he was integrally involved with both pre- and post-merger activities, including helping to lead several initiatives in staffing, work force planning, and change management in order to effect a smooth transition and integration. Prior to AT&T/Cingular, Duckett, served in executive human resources positions including senior vice president of human resources and administration of Covisint LLC; and vice president of human resources of Automatic Data Processing's Claims Solutions Group. These business services and information technology companies included global operations. Earlier in his career Duckett held positions of increasing responsibility with Sony and Pepsi as well as General Foods/ Philip Morris in corporate human resources, organizational development, training and operations.
"We are very pleased to have Dwaine joining UC in this role," said UC Executive Vice President for Business Operations Katherine Lapp. "He is superbly qualified to lead our effort in strengthening our personnel programs and systems, and identifying strategies that help us compete for the kind of talent required to maintain UC's standards of public service."
Reporting to Lapp, the vice president for human resources is responsible for ensuring that the UC Office of the President human resources organization is structured and staffed to meet the academic, administrative and strategic demands of the university. While being primarily responsible for the human resources needs of non-academic staff, Duckett will collaborate with all constituents throughout the institution to assure the alignment of strategies, policies, programs and services with the needs of all faculty and staff in a manner that enhances the effectiveness and reputation of the entire UC system. Duckett will also serve as the primary fiduciary, as delegated by the regents and president, to oversee all aspects of benefit plans and program administration.
"I am honored and humbled by this appointment," said Duckett. "The University of California is unmatched in its standards of excellence and its service to the public, and the caliber of UC's people -- its faculty and staff -- is the foundation for those standards and contributions. Maintaining the vibrancy and quality of UC's work force, developing strategies for meeting the university's human capital needs of the future, and keeping UC competitive will be among my highest priorities."
Consistent with similar positions at comparable institutions, Duckett will receive an annual base salary of $300,000 and the following compensation-related items per university policy: reimbursement of temporary living expenses not to exceed $15,000 over a period of up to three months; two round-trip coach class airfare trips plus reasonable accommodation expenses to assist with house-hunting; reimbursement of relocation expenses; a relocation allowance of 25 percent ($75,000) of base salary to aid in Mr. Duckett's relocation from Pittsburgh to the Bay Area, subject to a repayment schedule if Mr. Duckett elects a lump sum payment and resigns in the first four years of his appointment; eligibility to participate in the university's Mortgage Origination Program; an annual automobile allowance in the amount of $8,916; standard pension and health and welfare benefits, and standard senior management benefits (including senior management life insurance, executive business travel insurance and executive salary continuation for disability); and a 5 percent monthly contribution to the Senior Management Supplemental Benefit Program
Duckett holds an undergraduate degree in history/legal studies from Brandeis University and a master's degree in management from Carnegie Mellon University.
The University of California, recognized worldwide for its academic distinction, includes more than 225,000 students, 180,000 faculty and staff, and a $19 billion annual budget at its 10 campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. UC's five medical centers support the clinical teaching programs of the university's medical and health sciences schools and handle more than three million patient visits each year. The university offers programs in more than 150 disciplines, many of which are ranked among the top 10 nationally, and for the last 14 years has generated more patents than any other university in the nation. The UC system also is involved in managing the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories at Berkeley, Livermore and Los Alamos, N.M. For more information on the University of California, visit: www.universityofcalifornia.edu