Stacy Roberts Giwa named USC senior vice president of human resources

Stacy Roberts Giwa has been appointed USC senior vice president of human resources. Giwa has been serving in the role as interim since October 2024.

Giwa will oversee USC’s Human Resources, Equity and Compliance division, as well the Office of Professionalism and Ethics; the Office of Culture, Ethics and Compliance; and the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity and Title IX.

“Stacy’s decades of experience across HR have earned her a reputation for being a trusted, thoughtful advisor who brings compassion and strategic problem solving to challenging situations,” USC President Carol Folt wrote in an email to the USC community. “She brings a wide breadth of experience, skills and expertise to this critical university function.”

Giwa has successfully taken on critical priorities — most recently, helping establish and administer the Trojan Family L.A. Wildfire Relief Fund created for faculty, staff and students affected by the Los Angeles-area wildfires. Over the past six years, she has worked passionately leading the USC Culture Journey and has been integral to the high level of participation across the entire university.

“Some of you may even remember Stacy out on Trousdale giving away hot dogs from Pink’s, encouraging staff, students and faculty to stop and offer their input on our unifying values,” Folt noted.

“I’m very much a believer that we all need to be able to talk freely about our values and culture and that putting plans in place to enable those conversations is very important,” Giwa said in 2019 interview with USC News. “It’s not about doing a survey about values and that’s it. It’s about engaging folks about our values and using that feedback to make action plans, things we can do to make a difference.”

New HR director: years with USC

Giwa joined the university in 2018, directing USC’s compliance program and serving as the university’s vice president of culture, ethics and compliance, and chief compliance officer. She served on the university’s Policy and Community Advisory Committee and the Employee Relations Advisory Group, and she currently serves as the inaugural chair of USC’s Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility.

Before joining USC, Giwa worked for Ernst & Young as a principal in the forensics and integrity services practice and Southern California Edison as vice president and chief ethics and compliance officer.

Giwa earned her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and her law degree from Pepperdine University. She is a member of the California State Bar Association and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

“I have worked with Stacy for more than six years, in all sorts of circumstances, and have benefited greatly from her counsel, honesty and determination,” Folt said. “Whatever we ask of her, she dives in and brings her good nature, warmth and deep sense of commitment to the Trojan Family. She knows how to get things done, and we are in great hands.”

Giwa is the mother of twin boys, Reese and Addison.