CAHRS Mourns Passing of Founding Member

Walton Burdick, a founding member, Fellow and Distinguished Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR) - and a legend in the HR profession - passed away peacefully on December 17th, 2024. He joined IBM following graduation from Cornell University’s ILR School, culminating his 38-year career as Senior Vice president of HR and member of the Corporate Management Board. Following his retirement from IBM, he served as Chairman and CEO of Chemical Technologies International and as Chairman of the Healthstar Network.

Mr. Burdick was instrumental in the founding of the ILR School’s Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS) in 1987. “At the time, he was by far the most highly respected CHRO in the country,” says Lee Dyer, who then was a professor at ILR. “Walt was particularly instrumental in recruiting member companies. We thought we’d be lucky to wrestle up a dozen or so during the first year, but lo and behold we had 35 signed up in a matter of months,” he recalls. “Walt’s support of CAHRS continued for many years as a member and chair of its Advisory Board and source of sage advice that helped the organization grow and develop into the top university-based provider of HR research and development activities for major corporations worldwide.”