APAC PROFILE

John Brach, new APAC member.

IHRP HR’s John Brach Joins APAC

By Lucia Gonzalez

JOHN BRACH, Director of Human Resources, Institute for Health and Research Policy (IHRP), has been employed by UIC for 17 years, but he has been a part of the UIC community since he was an undergrad student 23 years ago.

               

INITIALLY, BRACH worked at the College of Business Administration and the Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration (OAVCA). In October 2004, he started working as the HR director at the Institute for Health Research and Policy in the School of Public Health. It was a big change for Brach to switch his focus from the administrative and academic communities to the research community.

“I’M ALWAYS looking for ways to bring the unique issues that research creates to the forefront and to the attention of the campus decision makers so this important area can receive the special HR attention it needs,” Brach said.

OVER THE years, Brach has faced quite a few challenges due to HR changes that occasionally occur.  However, the campus has been able to evolve in such a way that the hiring and payroll process is much smoother and more efficient than it was years ago, he said. Brach believes that UIC has progressed immensely throughout the years he has been here.

“WORKING AT UIC has been great, and I’ve met a lot of wonderful people in my career here and have learned a lot more than I ever would have imagined,” Brach said. “Even after 17 years, there aren’t many days that go by that I don’t learn something new.”

BRACH’S MAIN interest is in doing anything he can do to help the campus be a better place to work. He goes out of his way to know employees’ names and to learn what these individuals believe are working well, and what things they believe could use improvements.

“I’VE ALWAYS enjoyed helping people and my main goals have always been to recruit employees to work here, hire them, and make the process easy so that they don’t have to worry about anything other than showing up on time on their first day,” Brach explained.

AS A new member of APAC, Brach has not signed up for any special committees, but is exploring how or where he might fit in best. Since his experience has been centered on HR, he’d like to find a spot where he can make a difference for UIC employees.

“BECAUSE WORK is such a huge part of our lives,” Brach said, “it needs to be an area where individuals can feel accomplished. If I can play some small role in helping that happen, I will feel like I’ve accomplished what I’ve set out to do.”

TO CONTACT Brach, email jebrach@uic.edu.