Christine Lovely joins UCLA in inaugural role

Source: https://adminvc.ucla.edu/news-views/fall-2025/christine-lovely-joins-ucla-inaugural-role Parent: https://adminvc.ucla.edu/news-views/fall-2025

December 16, 2025
Administration News & Views

Christine Lovely has been appointed vice chancellor for campus human resources and chief people officer, effective Dec. 18. In this role, Lovely will report directly to Chancellor Julio Frenk and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Darnell Hunt and will serve as a member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet. UCLA Health Human Resources will continue to formally report to Vice Chancellor for UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health John Mazziotta, with a dotted reporting line to Lovely.

Lovely brings more than two decades of leadership experience in human resources across complex academic and public sector organizations. She most recently served as vice president and chief human resources officer at Cornell University and previously held the role of chief human resources officer at UC Davis, where she led major organizational initiatives in workforce planning, talent development, and labor and employee relations.

As UCLA’s inaugural vice chancellor and chief people officer, Lovely will oversee the full scope ofCampus Human Resources and will provide strategic guidance to ensure that UCLA continues to recruit, develop, support and retain the talented staff who advance our mission of teaching, research and public service. She will work closely with leaders across academic and administrative units to build a cohesive and strategic approach to staff workforce development and organizational effectiveness.

Lovely began her career as a labor and employment attorney and has since held senior leadership roles focused on strategic workforce planning, organizational culture, systemwide collaboration and HR transformation. She is widely recognized for her thoughtful, inclusive leadership style; her skill in building productive relationships in decentralized environments; and her commitment to advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.