Robert J. Awkward, Ph.D. is the Program Coordinator and Academic Advisor for the Master of Human Resources (MHR) program. In addition to serving as a visiting professor of human resource management at Framingham State University, he is the Assistant Commissioner for Academic Effectiveness for the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. In this role, Bob is responsible for leading the advancement of a culture of assessment and the increase utilization of open educational resources for the 29 public institutions through convening, professional development, and statewide program coordination. These roles involve efforts regionally and nationally. In addition, Bob is currently on a professional leave of absence as a tenured professor of business and economics at Middlesex Community College (MCC). There he taught a variety of business and economic courses. Before his career in academia, Bob enjoyed progressive, diverse and successful human resources experiences in varied industries including retail, manufacturing, high technology, professional services, and healthcare. Those experiences included twelve years as a senior manager serving the last three as vice president of human resources. Although Bob possesses broad human resources knowledge, his areas of expertise include staffing, employee/labor relations, managing diversity, learning and development and organizational effectiveness. Bob possesses a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Massachusetts Boston; a M.Ed. in Human Resources Development from Boston University; and both a M.S. in Economic Policy & Planning and a B.A. in Political Science from Northeastern University.
