In a Turbulent, Unstable Era of severe financial pressures, the development of strategic human resource (HR) practices has become an urgent mandate in higher education. With significant and widespread institutional shifts resulting from globalization, heightened competition, and rapid innovation, educational leaders must optimize their most significant resource-human capital-and align HR strategies, structures, and processes with organizational goals. Due to substantial cuts in state appropriations and rapidly diminishing budgets, public institutions of higher education in particular are struggling to realign resources and programs to fulfill their educational missions and maintain academic quality, while simultaneously responding to complex external legislative and accreditation mandates.