Global Campus Director Honored With HR Professional of the Year Award

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Judith Tavano of the Global Campus accepts the Human Resource Professional of the Year Award for 2015 from Cliff Sandsmark, past president of the Northwest Arkansas Human Resource Association.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Judith Tavano of the University of Arkansas Global Campus was named the Human Resource Professional of the Year for 2015 by the Northwest Arkansas Human Resources Association, also known as NOARK.

Tavano is the director of professional development programs at the Global Campus facility in Rogers. She accepted the award in December from Cliff Sandsmark, the past NOARK president.

“This is NOARK’s award to recognize a member who has demonstrated exemplary service and is a role model for all human resource professionals,” Sandsmark said.

“I have had the pleasure of working closely with Judith over the years on several endeavors and can personally attest to her commitment, dedication and contributions, not only to the chapter, but to the profession,” Sandsmark said.

Tavano has more than 16 years of experience in human resource education, serving the University of Arkansas for 11 years. She worked with the U of A to launch an online version of the Society for Human Resource’s exam preparation course in 2010, providing broader, more flexible access for working professionals.

Tavano served the past two years as chair of NOARK SuperCon, an annual, one-day conference each fall that is packed with experts on human resource topics that impact business. She will serve in that capacity again in 2016.

“If it wasn’t for her hard work, many of us would not have our HR certifications,” Sandsmark said. “She showed no hesitancy when I asked her to chair our SuperCon Conference last year, knowing she would be the right person for the job and make it the success it has become.”

“This award is a great honor, but it is due in large measure to the people who have contributed to my career success here in Arkansas,” Tavano said. “New to Arkansas in 1999, NOARK became my first connection to the local HR community, and over the years I have come to regard its members as my Arkansas family. Recognition from NOARK means the world to me.”

Tavano earned a master’s degree in English from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts; earned a certificate in human resource management from Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts; and holds the designation of Senior Certified Professional in Human Resources by the Society for Human Resource Management and Senior Professional in Human Resources by the Human Resources Certification Institute.

In 2002, Tavano was awarded the Rising Star Award by NOARK, followed by the Pinnacle Award in 2011 and Member of the Year in 2014.