SHSS Alumnus Leads Organizational Development

Robert J. Witheridge, a Ph.D., an alumnus of the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (DCAR) in the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, is serving as associate director of organizational leadership development in the Department of Human Resources at the Total System Services, Inc. in Columbus, Ga.

Witheridge believes that his current responsibilities have demonstrated how the DCAR curriculum translates within an applied organizational context.  His primary initiatives encompass strategic leadership development through the direction of talent management, succession planning, performance management, global organizational culture and organizational systems design.  In tandem with the qualitative and quantitative analysis of targeted organizational data, he also facilitates strategic discussions to promote organizational development and enrichment.  His interdisciplinary expertise and skills in mediation, negotiation, dispute system design, collaborative problem solving and consensus building are closely connected with searching for creative solutions to the complex challenges.