Schmitt named Argonne director of Human Resources

ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 24, 2007) — Don Schmitt has been named the director of Human Resources Division (HR) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory.

Schmitt is responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining policies and programs that support the work force dedicated to advancing the frontiers of knowledge in science and engineering. Schmitt manages a wide range of organizational functions, including employment and placement, compensation, benefits, employee and labor relations, employee education and development, diversity initiatives and health services.

“We want this laboratory to maintain its high standing in the scientific community and be on the cutting edge of scientific discovery and application," Schmitt said. "To achieve this, we must continue to attract and retain the best and brightest scientists and engineers. It is important that we offer a competitive compensation and benefit package, have effectual policies and procedures, and provide a worker-friendly environment that allows all employees to succeed to the best of their ability.

“In my new position I expect to be faced with diverse and complex challenges," he said. "However, I have the good fortune of inheriting a strong, professional human resources staff with a terrific knowledge and experience base. I am confident this will serve us well in delivering high quality HR services to the laboratory.”

Schmitt joined Argonne in 1989 after working as a labor economist with the U.S. Department of Labor in both Washington, D.C., and Chicago. In that role, he led major national surveys on employee compensation and benefits and authored several articles in Monthly Labor Review.

Over the past five years, Schmitt has served as Argonne 's deputy chief operations officer and has been the laboratory's prime liaison with DOE in performance management, DOE directives management and laboratory policy. Schmitt has served on numerous lab-wide committees, including Operations Security, the Information Technology Policy Board and the Programmatic Administrative Coordinators Team. He is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans.

A native of the Chicago suburbs, Schmitt has a bachelor's degree in business economics from Southern Illinois University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America 's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

For more information, please contact Eleanor Taylor (630/252-5510 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.