Jami Painter

Jami Painter, Ed.M., SPHR, SHRM-SCP

Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Assistant: Marcy Frerichs | mtfreric@uillinois.edu | 217.244.9224

As the Senior Associate Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Jami serves as the principal HR advisor to the Board of Trustees, President, and Vice Presidents. She also provides strategic oversight of the System Human Resource Services organization, which is responsible for system-wide HR policy and compliance; benefits, retirement and leave administration; employee engagement and wellness programs; diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programs; information management and institutional reporting; organizational effectiveness and training and development; workplace investigations and grievances; human resource systems administration; labor and employee relations; classification and compensation; and talent acquisition and management. In her role, she represents the University of Illinois System with the Big 10 Academic Alliance Chief Human Resources Officers, the Association of Research Universities HR Institute, the State Universities Civil Service System, and the State Universities Retirement System.

Before joining the University of Illinois System in 2001, Jami worked in human resources in the private sector for eight years with progressive leadership in both strategic and operational areas of human resources. Along with her HR expertise throughout her work, Jami has emphasized the importance of employee wellness and creating a culture of belonging and inclusion where all employees feel valued and are able to thrive and contribute to the University of Illinois System.

Jami graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in Business and from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a master’s degree in Human Resources Education. She is also a graduate of the University Administrative Fellows Program, the Harvard Management Development Program, the National Academy for Human Resources – CHRO Academy, and the President’s Executive Leadership Program (2023).

In 2008 Jami received the Central Illinois Business Magazine's 40 Under 40 Award and in 2018 was featured in Profile magazine. She has also contributed to publications for Academic Impressions. She maintains a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification and has been an active member of her local and professional communities serving on many non-profit and professional boards. Jami currently serves as Chair-Elect on the national board of directors for the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR); as Co-President for Leadership Illinois; and as Chair of the Illinois Higher Education Consortium on Human Capital. She previously served as president of the local Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) chapter, Central Illinois Human Resources Group (CiHRG) and on the CUPA-HR Illinois Board of Directors.