Our History

History of The National Academy of Human Resources

Since its establishment in 1992, The National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) has played a pivotal role in advancing the human resources profession by honoring distinguished individuals in the field and fostering the development of future HR leaders. As we commemorate the 34th anniversary of the NAHR, we invite you to explore the timeline and discover the organization's rich history.

Timeline

    • Multiple HR organizations met as the Coalition of Human Resources Management Association (COHRMA) to discuss the possibilities of an organization to complement other HR organizations and benefit the HR Profession

    • The Formulation Group was formed to create the new organization

    • NAHR registered in New Mexico

    • Bill Johnson became NAHR's first Executive Director and Walt Burdick became NAHR's first Chair

    • Declaration of Directors

    • NAHR founded: inaugural class of 12 Fellows inducted including the CHRO Academy and Annual Dinner held virtually due to continued COVID pandemic Moved Annual Dinner out of Waldorf to JW Marriott Essex House Moved CHRO Academy out of Yale Club to Park Lane Hotel Moved CHRO Academy out of Park Lane Hotel to the Sheraton New York Times Square first Black Fellow (James Perkins) and the first female Fellow (Madelyn Jennings

    • Inducted 1st Distinguished Fellow, Frank Doyle

    • Election of Formulation Group as Directors

    • Inducted 2nd Distinguished Fellow, The Honorable William E. Brock

    • November 4, 1993 – Business Meeting - Motion passed unanimously to continue with Formulation Group as NAHR Directors until elected Fellows of the Classes of 1992, 1993, and 1994 would assume responsibility

    • Established the NAHR Patrons Program

    • Inducted 3rd Distinguished Fellow, The Honorable John T. Dunlop

    • Established the NAHR Foundation

    • Howard Knicely named Board Chair

    • Inducted 4th Distinguished Fellow, Walton E. Burdick

    • NAHR Foundation registered in New Mexico

    • NAHR Foundation registered in Santa Fe, New Mexico

    • Inducted first Honored Organization: College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR)

    • Inducted 5th Distinguished Fellow, Howard V. Knicely, SPHR

    • NAHR retreat held at Duke to discuss NAHR's future direction, clarifying criteria for Fellows and confirming the Academy's role in assuring the future vitality of its Fellows and the HR profession

    • February 1, 1997 - First President title appointed to William Johnson (formerly Executive Director)

    • Number of Fellows exceeds 50

    • Inducted 6th Distinguished Fellow, Madelyn P. Jennings

    • Hal Burlingame named Board Chair

    • Joan Simpson-Player became NAHR's first Program Administrator

    • Inducted 7th Distinguished Fellow, Rex D. Adams

    • All Fellows retreat held to review the direction set at the 1997 Duke retreat and set the direction of the organization for the coming years

    • First Grand Sponsors for the Annual Fellow Induction Dinner (Hewitt, Spencer Stuart)

    • Bill Conaty named Board Chair

    • Inducted 8th Distinguished Fellow, Bruce Carswell

    • Conducted first CHRO Academy

    • 100th Fellow Inducted into NAHR

  • Inducted 9th Distinguished Fellow, Dr. Ram Charan

    • Charles Tharp appointed as President

    • Inducted 10th Distinguished Fellow, Harold W. Burlingame

    • Inducted 11th Distinguished Fellow, William J. Conaty

    • Mirian Graddick-Weir named Board Chair

    • First Modern CHRO Role and Strategies for Success (Top Seat) Program

    • Conducted first Modern CHRO Role and Strategies for Success (Top Seat) Program with Cornell, led by Pat Wright

    • Dick Antoine appointed as President

    • Inducted 12th Distinguished Fellow, Charles G. Tharp, PhD

    • NAHR Foundation valued at $1M

    • American Research Universities - Human Research Institute launched

    • Inducted 13th Distinguished Fellow, J. Randall MacDonald

    • Established Ram Charan HR Essay Contest

    • First NAHR book published: The Chief HR Officer - Defining the New Role of Human Resources Leaders

    • Annual Dinner cancelled due to Super Storm Sandy

    • Katy Barclay named as Board Chair

    • Retail HR Leaders Forum conducted, led by Katy Barclay and Dick Antoine

    • 150th Fellow inducted

    • NAHR contributed to the funding of and Fellow time to the Consortium to Reimagine HR, Employment Alternatives, Talent, and Enterprise (CHREATE) led by John Boudreau and Ian Ziskin

    • Foundation valued at $2M

    • Jill Smart appointed as President

    • Established NAHR SHRM Scholarship Program

    • Published: The Rise of HR - Wisdom From 73 Thought Leaders

    • Program Administrator Joan Simpson-Player retired and Debbie Knaack hired

    • Inducted 14th Distinguished Fellow, Mirian Graddick-Weir, PhD

    • Introduced the Masters Student Program

    • Published: CHROs: An Underutilized Resource for Corporate Boards whitepaper

    • Moved Annual Dinner out of the Yale Club to the Waldorf

    • NAHR Foundation value $2.3M

    • NAHR partnered with SHRM for a new website

    • Hired first Finance Director, Susan Erdman

    • Published: View From the Top - Leveraging Human and Organizational Capital to Create Value

    • Foundation valued at $2.7M

    • Celebrated NAHR's 25th Anniversary

    • Moved Annual Dinner out of Waldorf to JW Marriott Essex House

    • Moved CHRO Academy out of Yale Club to Park Lane Hotel

    • John Murabito named Board Chair

    • Inducted the 13th Honored Organization - Riegel & Emory Human Resource Research Center (Darla Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina)

    • Moved CHRO Academy out of Park Lane Hotel to the Sheraton New York Times Square

    • Inducted 15th Distinguished Fellow, Jeffrey C. McGuiness

    • Established an NAHR presence on LinkedIn and YouTube

    • Established the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) partnership

    • NAHR Foundation value $3.3M

    • 510 CHROs have attended the CHRO Academy

    • Inducted 16th Distinguished Fellow, Professor David Ulrich

    • 183rd Fellow Inducted

    • NAHR produced its first video

    • Launched NAHR Fellows in the Classroom Established partnership with Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) on Anti-Racism Grants and the Research Horizon Forum on Diversity & Inclusion

    • CHRO Academy cancelled, and Annual Dinner held virtually due to COVID pandemic

    • NAHR Foundation value $33.9M

    • Foundation valued at $4M

    • CHRO Academy and Annual Dinner held virtually due to continued COVID pandemic

    • Established first named scholarships in honor of Richard Beaumont (partnered with Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources) and James Perkins (with his alma mater Tuskegee University)

    • Tenth NAHR SHRM Scholarship awarded

    • Daniel B. Marsili appointed as President

    • NAHR Launches its first CPO Academy designed specifically for Chief People Officers of PE and VC backed companies and high-growth start-ups

    • Inducted 17th Distinguished Fellow, L. Kevin Cox

    • 200th Fellow Inducted

    • NAHR's Annual Induction Gala outgrows the space at the New York Essex House and moves to the iconic Conrad New York Downtown Hotel in Manhattan's Financial District.

    • Lindsay Hoag, Totally Remote LLC, begins supporting NAHR Program Management

    • NAHR holds its CHRO Academy for the 1st time in the halls of the historic New York Stock Exchange

    • NAHR and NAHR Foundation merge into a Delaware registered 501(c)(3) corporation entitled National Academy of Human Resources Foundation, d/b/a National Academy of Human Resources

    • NAHR launches a new website to better serve its membership and the public

    • Maureen Assumma joins NAHR as Administrator

Download timeline.