VP Emerita of Human Resources and Title IX Retires after 19 Years

Barbara Fayad did more than establish policies, recruit and retain faculty and staff, and oversee payroll and benefits as Presbyterian College’s first human resources director. As former college president Bob Staton pointed out in his announcement last fall regarding Fayad’s retirement at the end of 2020, she “supported, nurtured, and guided thousands of PC employees with a mix of grace, steel, flexibility, caring, love, and compassion …”

The Vice President Emerita of Human Resources and Title IX stepped down in December after 19 years of service—helping PC’s most important assets navigate myriad professional challenges and triumphs and the College navigate a variety of regulations and policies.

“In HR, you see and hear all kinds of issues and problems, some work-related and some personal,” Fayad said. “The joys of HR are when you actually get to assist employees through their issues with outcomes that are good for both the employee and PC. Also, in HR, you get to meet such great people—from those who are interviewed to the ones who are hired.”

Being in the people business takes a person who understands balancing the needs of both employer and employed, a trait Fayad displayed regularly. In his statement to the College community, Staton—who also retired at the end of last semester—called her “an invaluable friend, confidant, and guide.”

“She has provided me wise counsel, clear-eyed judgment, and a friendly and supportive ear when it is most needed,” he stated. “She has displayed an unmatched love and compassion for PC and its employees, and we have benefitted from her dedication, guidance and support.”

Fayad pointed at two career milestones she is most proud of— when the College’s Board of Trustees established the human relations executive as a cabinet-level vice president position and establishing the College’s Title IX office.

It also goes without saying, that a human resources professional greatly valued the humans she worked with closely over the years— former vice president for finance Morris Galloway and her office mates—Jerry Bron, Sandy Dowdle, and Jean Copeland.

“We functioned as a team, and I always felt I had their support,” she said. “I have great respect for what the faculty and staff do for the students, especially in these very challenging times.”

Now, the people Fayad will focus much of her attention on are the people she will spend more time with—tennis partners and family, including daughter Jennifer, son-in-law David, and grandchildren Mackenzie, Jackson, and Naya.

She leaves PC with only one real regret.

“I do regret when I retired I was not able, due to COVID, to shake each employee’s hand or give them a hug,” she said.