October 23, 2003
Carson named VP for Human Resources
Patricia Carson, a senior vice president at United Airlines, will become the vice president for human resources, beginning Monday, Oct. 27.
Carson has had a 31-year career at United Airlines, the world’s second largest airline. As senior vice president for onboard service, she directed the onboard performance of 21,000 flight attendants, 1,500 support team members and the catering for 2,500 flights a day. She managed a budget of $2 billion.
She also has served as United’s vice president for worldwide human resources, leading the human resources team in the post 9/11 recovery.
“Patti Carson comes to the University of Washington with a wealth of experience, dealing with human resource issues in a complex environment,” says Weldon Ihrig, UW executive vice president. “Her success as a catalyst for workplace transformation at United and championing effective communications with employees makes her an ideal fit for UW.”
“When I began to explore this opportunity, I was focused on finding an extraordinary group of people who produced extraordinary results,” Carson says. “I feel confident that I have found that in the University and look forward to leading the human resources team forward and through new challenges.
“The University community can expect to see a continuing emphasis on service excellence and responsiveness,” she added. “At the same time, we will work tirelessly to address emerging opportunities in personnel service reform, collective bargaining and seeing that the University is an employer of choice for every level of faculty and staff.”
Carson has worked at United since 1972. She became a regional manager, responsible for all human resources for the airline’s management and engineering division, in 1988. In 1994, she became a director, responsible for human resource and employment functions for United’s operation in the Western states. She became managing director, leading human resources and labor functions for United’s operating units, in 1998. She was appointed vice president of worldwide human resources in 2001 and senior vice president in 2002.
Carson has a bachelor’s degree from the University of San Francisco and attended the Human Resources Executive Program at Stanford. She has a certificate in negotiations from Harvard.
