CSUN University News Clippings

CSUN’s Robert Foldesi named among the Valley’s top HR professionals

(April 1, 2009)

Robert S. Foldesi
California State Univeristy, Northridge

After speaking with Bob Foldesi for just a few minutes, one wonders whether he ever attended a seminary or studied religion.

His conversation about his experience in the human resources arena is sprinkled with words and phrases heard more often from spiritual leaders.

For instance, when asked about how he felt about winning a Top Human Resources Professional award, Foldesi says, “I felt very enriched to have the support of the people who nominated me for the award.”

He ascribes his choice of language not to formal training but to his past work environments which included two years at the University of Notre Dame and six years with the Sisters of Holy Cross in Indiana.

“So I do have a sense of the intrinsic value of people and to be good at human resources what I think you try to do is tap into the heart,” said Foldesi. “If you tap into the heart, people want to give their best for the organization.”

The nomination submitted by a group of six CSUN leaders highlighted this quality in Foldesi.

“Bob understands the ‘human’ in human resources,” wrote Mika Williamson and Gray Mounger. “His collaborative, people-oriented style and his contagious energy are realized in actions and stated in the words of his team’s mission of ‘making a positive difference every day.”

He’s a walking paradox, though. His nominators also reference his past as a star running back at Central Michigan University and his resume includes four years of service as an Intelligence Office in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He continued that service as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve until retiring with the rank of Colonel in 1998.

He also has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology to go with his master’s in management and supervision.

Foldesi describes himself as an introvert doing a job usually held by extroverts.

Which is why he doesn’t want to talk about himself, but rather about what his department has achieved in the past five years.

“One of the things we’re most proud of is the talent management program that has been implemented,” said Foldesi. “In fact, one of the groups from the last leadership series is the group that nominated me for this award.”

He went on to talk about the variety of activities and programs sponsored by the human resources department including an intensive 12-session program that involved 30 administrators learning about leadership skills and practicing those skills in what he described as a “pragmatic project.”

He also speaks with pride about of a series of leadership seminars on collaborative team building and performance management, the goal of which is to erode the “silo mentality,” so prevalent in universities.

“A third component is an employee wellness program and employee assistance program that has just done great things,” Foldesi added. “We’ve had lunch-and-learn sessions to talk about things like the difficulty of taking care of aging parents and out of that have evolved support groups and walking groups. And we have planned and will be providing in the near future sessions for staff and faculty about how to deal with the economic crisis from a personal level.”

For Foldesi, the critical issue facing human resources in the San Fernando Valley right now is how to maintain an effective workforce while people are being bombarded with bad news at a personal and campus level.

“There are issues of morale to deal with,” he said, “because although we have stable employment, people are afraid because others are having their salaries cut, or getting laid off or having their hours reduced. If people are worried about their mortgage or their credit card debt or their spouse not having a job, we have to provide support for that.”

— Linda Coburn

Publication: San Fernando Valley Business Journal