LSA Academic Human Resources (AHR)

LSA AHR Team Overview

LSA Academic Human Resources (lsahracademic@umich.edu) supports the lifecycle of academic employment across the college. We partner with academic units, academic personnel, leadership, and both college and university partner offices to facilitate hiring, appointment changes, leaves, retirement, policy compliance, and resolve complex pay and benefit issues for tenure/tenure-track faculty, research faculty, lecturers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate student assistants. 

Contact LSA AHR

For stakeholder convenience, we share a common email account: lsahracademic@umich.edu, which provides direct access to our team. 

Meet the LSA AHR Team

Emily Haygood (ehaygood@umich.edu), Senior Academic HR Representative

Primary Contact for:

• Humanities: Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty, Research Faculty, Lecturers, Postdoctoral Fellows

• Natural Sciences: Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty, Research Faculty, Lecturers, Postdoctoral Fellows

• Undergraduate Education (UGED): Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty, Lecturers, Postdoctoral Fellows

• Phased Retirement Agreements for Lecturers

• Liaison to:  University AHR, UHR, HRRIS, Payroll, Benefits, SSC, Immigration Council, Postdoctoral Administrator Group, ADA Coordinator, and Work Connections
   

Michael Zakalik (zakalikm@umich.edu), Academic HR Representative

Primary Contact for:

• Graduate Student Assistants in all divisions: Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, UGED, and the Dean’s Office

• Social Sciences: Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty, Research Faculty, Lecturers, Postdoctoral Fellows

• Retirement Agreements for Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty

• Tenure/Tenure-Track Faculty Leaves (Sabbatical, SAL, Discretionary, LWOS) 

What We Do

The LSA AHR team provides strategic oversight and support for academic employment matters across the college. Our responsibilities include:

• Academic Appointment Review and Approval
  LSA Dean’s Office-level review and approval of new hires and changes to appointments for tenure/tenure-track faculty, research faculty, lecturers, research fellows, and graduate student assistants.
  

• Strategic and Policy Guidance
  Providing knowledgeable advice and data-informed support to divisional associate deans and academic units on interpreting policy, planning appointments, and implementing effective academic employment strategies.
  

• Labor Relations Support
  Interpreting and applying the terms of collective bargaining agreements (LEO & GEO) and working closely with LSA’s senior labor relations representative, Kamil Robakiewicz.
  

• Issue Resolution
  Assisting with complex matters related to compensation, benefits, medical leave, and other employment-related concerns.
  

• Remote & International Work Guidance
  Offering guidance on remote work, international employment scenarios, and work authorization requirements.
  

• Cross-Unit Collaboration
  Partnering with LSA Faculty Academic Affairs, Finance, and Research, as well as central university offices (e.g., University AHR, SSC, Payroll, Benefits, HRRIS, International Center, OVPR, Rackham, ADA, Postdoctoral Admin Group) to coordinate employment-related processes and resolve issues.
  

• Leave Administration
  Supporting a wide range of leave types, including sabbatical, scholarly activity, duty off campus, unpaid, medical, maternity, and parental leave.
  

• Retirement Coordination
  Managing faculty phased retirement agreements in partnership with associate deans, academic units, and central HR.
  

• Data & Records Management
  Maintaining accurate employment records in university systems, supporting reporting and data requests, and ensuring HR data integrity and compliance with audit standards.

LSA AHR Commitment

AHR is committed to delivering responsive, knowledgeable, collaborative, and solutions-oriented support. We aim to provide clear guidance and accessible resources that empower academic leaders and staff to manage appointments efficiently and equitably. Whether supporting an individual appointment or addressing broader policy initiatives, we’re here to help.

LSA AHR Academic Appointment Training

Here, you can find the Academic Appointment Training. This training was developed with Chief Administrators and academic unit support staff in mind, offering a detailed overview intended to serve as a long-term reference. We recognize that academic appointment processes can be complex—policies may vary between the university and the college, and it’s not always clear where to find the right information or who manages it.

Our training provides a high-level look at academic appointments, highlights key points, and guides you to essential resources. While some of the content may be familiar, we aim to help you more confidently support academic appointments in your role.

We are happy to schedule one-on-one or group training by request. 

If you're not sure who to reach out to for an HR question, please feel free to email lsahracademic@umich.edu, and we’ll make sure it gets to the right person.