On February 15, President Jeffrey Herbst announced his de­cision to realign the communi­cation between the Center for Ca­reer Services and the Dean of the College (DOC), which includes plans for Career Services to work with the division of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs (IAAA). IAAA works to create re­lationships with alumni, parents and supporters of the school who can help contribute to the devel­opment of Colgate. Career devel­opment will no longer rest solely on one department.

“As you might imagine, over time, this will grow our employer development and alumni/parent volunteer efforts in substantial ways. Our historical focus under the DOC has been about student learning and growth. Although this commitment will definitely be maintained by the non-recruiting functions of our office, we will be balancing it with this new set of priorities” Interim Director of the Center for Career Services Teresa Olsen said.

The hybrid Career Services model will be unique and the shift will include both small and large scale changes. However, the day-to-day services will remain the same.

“Our internal operations – stu­dent advising, outreach, program­ming – will remain consistent from what students experience now. We will still prioritize working with students of all class years, all career interests and at all stages of clarity in their career direction,” Olsen said.

“We will still coach students through internship, job and grad­uate school searches in collabo­ration with our existing partners around campus. And we will con­tinue to place a shared ownership on students to take advantage of the career resources Colgate of­fers in a timely way to increase their propensity to achieve the post-graduate outcomes students seek,” Olsen said.

“The larger shift will be in our external operations. This collabo­ration allows for Career Services – and subsequently, our students – to benefit from the work that our Institutional Advancement and Alumni Affairs colleagues are achieving in building, sustaining and enhancing the connectivity of our alumni and parents,” Olson said. “With this partnership we will seek to increase the strength, depth and breadth of our internship and job initiatives. Likewise, we will seek to bolster alumni, parent and employer volunteerism to result in more meaningful opportunities for students to explore career interests.”

The idea for this transition began last fall during the Ca­reer Services comprehensive ex­ternal review. Colgate’s hope is to evolve with the employment landscape and capitalize on the external relationships to keep ahead in the career advising. This is a common conversation among many colleges and uni­versities, including liberal arts peers of Colgate.

On July 1, Career Services will begin to report to IAAA. It is expected that the new model will undergo subtle changes over the year to become a stronger pro­gram as research and feedback come in. This new connection will be lead by Vice President of Institutional Advancement Murray Decock and the undeter­mined Dean of the College and Director of Career Services. If all is successful, Colgate will be able to take advantage of two strong departments and create greater networking and connections in a time of economic instability.

Contact Morgan Giordano at [email protected].