Scot R. Bemis, vice president for Human Resources at Brandeis University, has been appointed Chief Human Resources Officer at Dartmouth. He will assume his new role on April 27, 2015.

“Scot is an innovative strategist and proven leader with an impressive depth and breadth of experience in the world of human resources,” says Rick Mills, executive vice president at the College. “He will bring to Dartmouth a keen appreciation of the needs of a large and diverse institution. We are thrilled to welcome him aboard.”

Scot R. Bemis will assume his role as Dartmouth's Chief Human Resources Officer on April 27, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Brandeis University)

A human resources professional with more than 20 years of experience, Bemis has expertise in fiscal planning, managing multi-million-dollar operating budgets, and developing and managing high-performing teams.

He will lead the College’s Office of Human Resources, which provides services in the areas of benefits and compensation, employee relations, recruitment, and training and career development for Dartmouth’s employees. He will report to Mills.

“I feel incredibly honored to be joining the Dartmouth College team,” Bemis says. “It will be a privilege to work with senior leadership, faculty, students, and Human Resources staff. Both my wife, Brianne, and I are thrilled to be returning to Northern New England and becoming members of the prestigious and vibrant Dartmouth community.”

Bemis has worked at Brandeis, in Waltham, Mass., since 2007, overseeing the staff, budget and operations of the Office of Human Resources. He has been responsible for management of all activities relating to staffing—including employment, employee and labor relations, compensation, benefits, human resource information systems, and training and development for more than 2,000 employees—with an annual wage and benefits budget of over $140 million. In addition, he worked with senior Brandeis leadership on staff- and faculty-related aspects of the university’s strategic plan, complex employee relations issues, and reorganizations. Among other accomplishments, he collaborated with chief human resource officers from the 15 leading colleges and universities in the Boston area in a multi-year, ongoing wellness project that was expected to reduce the rate of increase in health care premiums.

Prior to his work at Brandeis, Bemis held three senior human resource positions with the U.S. Army. He was a director of the National Guard Human Resource operations in Washington, D.C.; Director of the Leadership Center in Tikrit, Iraq; and Senior Director of Human Resources in Baghdad, Iraq.

During his time in Baghdad, Bemis oversaw human resources for a 4,000-soldier task force under wartime conditions and was recognized for improving personnel retention rates by 64 percent. He was also recognized for his ability to perform under extreme duress while conducting all human resources operations, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious performance.

From 1999 through 2002, Bemis was an associate professor of studies in leadership and management at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He received his undergraduate degree in business administration from Norwich University and a master’s in business administration from Yale University.

Bemis’s appointment follows a national search facilitated by the firm Spencer Stuart working with a search committee led by Chief Financial Officer Michael Wagner. Other members of the committee included Elizabeth Agosto, associate dean of the College; Denise Anthony, vice provost for academic initiatives and a professor of sociology; Aine Donovan, adjunct associate professor of business administration and executive director of the Ethics Institute; Evelynn Ellis, vice president for Institutional Diversity and Equity; Richard Howarth, a professor of environmental studies and chair of the College Benefits Council; John Malanowski, chief human resources officer at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center; and Kevin O’Leary, associate general counsel.

Bemis succeeds Lynn Baker, who served as acting vice president and chief human resources officer.

“Lynn has done an outstanding job and we have been lucky to have someone with her expertise serving in the interim role,” says Mills. “She has never failed to rise to the occasion when called upon, and I cannot say enough about the fabulous work she has done.”