New A&M-Victoria HR director focused on rebuilding culture
Jada Walton, a longtime staff member at Texas A&M University-Victoria, whose campus career began as a student worker, will step into the role of human resources director this coming July, bringing a vision centered on culture, morale and a renewed sense of teamwork.
"Throughout her time at A&M-Victoria, Jada has demonstrated exceptional leadership, professionalism and a deep commitment to our employees and institutional mission," A&M-Victoria President Christian Hardigree said. "I am delighted Jada is stepping into this important role, and I look forward to the positive impact she will have on our faculty, staff and university community."
Walton will officially step into the role on July 1. When the human resources position opened, she didn’t immediately see it as an obvious next step, Walton said. Instead, she weighed the timing carefully, even as colleagues encouraged her to apply. Ultimately, she chose to bet on her own experience and commitment to the university.
“It’s such a pivotal point for the university, and I want to be a part of leading that change,” Walton said. “Opportunities like this don’t come up very often.”
At the core of her vision as the incoming human resources director is a renewed emphasis on workplace culture and upholding employee morale, she said. Because she has worked alongside many employees for an extended period of time, she believes she is well-positioned to help shift the environment into a more positive direction, rebuild trust and make A&M-Victoria a place where people feel proud and excited to work.
Walton first began at the university as a student worker in the Information Technology department in 2018, a role she held for about a year. She then spent six months working in the Financial Aid office in early 2019 before she transitioned into Human Resources where she felt she had found the best fit for her skills and interests, Walton said.
Within HR, she advanced through several key positions, including HR employment coordinator, senior coordinator of HR with a focus on systems, and manager of HR operations, where she gained a comprehensive understanding of HR workflows and processes. Since February, she has served as interim HR director, adding leadership duties to her operational responsibilities. Additionally, Walton is an alumna of A&M-Victoria, holding both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from the university’s College of Business.
“I hope that people know that I am committed to them,” Walton said. “That I understand them, hear them and that we’re all working toward the same goal.”
Texas A&M University-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the colleges of Business, Education & Health Professions, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, and Natural & Applied Science. A&M-Victoria provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as online classes that students can take from anywhere. The university supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.