Claudia Paetsch is vice president for human resources. In this capacity, she is responsible for the development and implementation of human resources and organizational strategies that support and enable the university’s mission and goals. Accountabilities for the human resources team include recruitment and retention, training and organizational development, employee engagement, performance management, employee relations, total rewards (i.e., compensation, benefits and employee wellness) and human resource information systems. She also oversees the Marquette University Child Care Center.

Paetsch joined Marquette in April 2019. Prior to that, she was a senior HR director and member of the HR leadership team at Northwestern Mutual, working with executives and their teams throughout the organization. She previously held HR director roles in talent acquisition, employee relations, shared consulting services and employee health services. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Paetsch worked in talent acquisition at Aurora Health Care and in training and development at Blue Cross and Blue Shield/United Wisconsin Services.

Paetsch earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She holds certifications as a Senior Certified Professional from the Society for HR Management (SHRM-SCP) and as a Senior Professional HR (SPHR) from the HR Certification Institute.

She has actively volunteered for the United Way, UPAF, Feeding America, Hunger Task Force and the Milwaukee Riverkeepers. Currently she is a board member for the Menomonee Valley Partners, the Menomonee River Valley Business Improvement District #26 and the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and she serves on the HRLx advisory board for chief HR officers in higher education.