About Andy Brantley

Andy Brantley, Ed.D., has served as president and chief executive officer of CUPA-HR since July 2005. With the leadership and guidance of high functioning boards and great national office colleagues, Andy has led the transformation of CUPA-HR. The association has grown from 1,500 member institutions to almost 2,000, and from 6,600 institutional reps to more than 35,000. A focus on strategic priorities and metrics to drive and evaluate leadership and service to higher education have also led to extraordinary work, impact, and financial stability.

Andy and other CUPA-HR leaders have made creating and sustaining inclusive communities a cornerstone of their work, and CUPA-HR has strengthened its position as the source of higher education workforce research and the voice of higher education human resources professionals on Capitol Hill. In addition to guiding CUPA-HR’s growth, Andy and his colleagues have been catalysts for change in CUPA-HR’s governance structure and strategic priorities. Under his leadership, the number of chapters has increased from 23 to 41, and the association has developed guidelines and affiliation agreements to strengthen the tie between chapters and the national organization. The national board has changed from geographic appointments to competency-based appointments, and board committees have been restructured to align with the association’s strategic priorities.

Andy completed his Doctorate in Higher Education Management at the Institute of Higher Education at University of Georgia in December of 2021. His dissertation is titled Chief Academic Officer Transition: Opportunity, Chaos, or Something In Between and is focused on the reasons that chief academic officers choose to stay in or leave their positions. Andy has written extensively regarding higher education workforce challenges and opportunities, including a March 2021 research report focused on how potential minimum wage changes will impact higher education and a May 2021 white paper focused on higher education workforce challenges and opportunities as we emerge from the pandemic. Andy is a frequent keynote and workshop presenter at meetings across the country.

Andy currently serves as co-chair of the Washington Higher Education Secretariat steering committee and the Secretariat’s representative to the American Council on Education Board of Directors. He also serves on the EDUCAUSE board of directors. Before he was employed at CUPA-HR, Andy served as associate vice president and chief human resources officer at the University of Georgia, assistant vice president and director of human resources at Davidson College, and director of human resources at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Prior to his appointment as CUPA-HR’s President and CEO, Andy served the association for a number of years as a volunteer leader at both the regional and national levels, including chair of the national board of directors. He is also a recipient of the association’s highest honor, the Donald E. Dickason Award, which recognizes distinguished and continued service to CUPA-HR and excellence in higher education and human resources.

Andy spends his free time involved in community, music and fitness activities. He has enjoyed choral performance as a member of choirs and auditioned groups including the Athens (GA) Master Chorale and Knoxville Choral Society. Andy is committed to a healthy lifestyle and makes exercise a regular part of his day.