Our Founder

Kenneth Hutchinson
President Emeritus, ARU-Human Resource Institute;
VP Emeritus, University of Missouri System

Ken Hutchinson currently serves as president emeritus of the ARU-HRI. Previously, he served as the chief human resource officer of the University of Missouri System for 30 years. He served as one of eleven general officers of the University of Missouri, along with the president of the university, the campus chancellors, vice presidents, and general counsel. He was the primary contact with the university’s governing board on human resource initiatives, programs and policies and held membership on the Compensation and Human Resource Committee of the Board of Curators.

Among his professional and board activities, Hutchinson has served as national president of the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) and as president of the CUPA-HR Foundation. He served on the Boards of the Washington-based Employee Benefits Research Institute, the Capitol Regional Medical Center, the University of Missouri Health Board, the National Academy of Human Resources, and the National Academy of Human Resources Foundation. Hutchinson served on a five-member board committee, chaired by Emerson Electric Chairman Charles F. Knight, which provided a comprehensive assessment of the governance structure of the University of Missouri. Hutchinson has served as speaker for national seminars on organizational performance, individual performance and productivity, labor relations, benefits and general management.

Hutchinson was inducted as a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources in 2000 and was elected to the NAHR Board in 2004. Hutchinson received EBRI’s Lillywhite Award, given annually in recognition of distinguished careers in the field of employee benefits. He is also the recipient of CUPA-HR’s Donald E. Dickason Award, the highest individual award given by CUPA-HR for contributions to the association. The University of Missouri Board of Curators bestowed on him the title vice president emeritus, University of Missouri, effective January 1, 2008.

Hutchinson earned a B.S. in business administration and a B.S. in psychology from Truman State University and a masters in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri. Hutchinson currently owns Hutchinson Consulting LLC and provides limited consulting to select clients on executive performance, benefits and talent management.