Roberta Maldonado Franzen Named Director of Talent Acquisition and Recruitment at Duke
Maldonado Franzen leads the design, development, implementation and monitoring of recruitment and talent acquisition programs

Since the pandemic began, Duke has hired approximately 21,500 new staff and faculty, as hybrid and remote work arrangements have changed how and where people work.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not just recruiting within Durham, North Carolina, anymore,鈥 Lofton said. 鈥淯sing best practices and strategies that she brings to us from other institutions she鈥檚 worked in, we鈥檙e going to leverage that skillset to ensure we are recruiting top performers, not just within the Durham community, but globally as well.鈥
Before coming to Duke, Maldonado Franzen worked at Kansas State University since 2010 in various roles, including Director Talent Acquisition and mostly recently, Director of People and Culture for the Libraries. As part of that university鈥檚 Human Resources function, she streamlined and implemented a university-wide applicant tracking system with automated recruiting and onboarding features. She also created an internal university executive search firm to recruit diverse talent.
Maldonado Franzen said she is excited to ensure Duke 鈥渞emains a beacon of excellence and innovation.鈥
鈥淲e鈥檙e building a first-class process to attract the best and brightest to the region,鈥 Maldonado Franzen said. 鈥淕reat talent knows no boundaries. Together, we will recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the world we serve, ensuring that our research, teaching and patient care continue to remind talent all the great reasons why Duke is a great place to work.鈥
Maldonado Franzen has a bachelor鈥檚 degree in Psychology from Kansas State University and a master鈥檚 degree in Science Administration with a concentration in Human Resources Administration from Central Michigan University. She earned doctorate in philosophy in Leadership Communication from Kansas State University in 2021.
She also holds a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification from the Human Resource Certification Institute.
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