Thanks to the generosity of a number of School of Business Alumni and also the support of Assistant Dean John Levato, the School has developed an innovative approach to helping the students find jobs through the Alumni Career Services Office.
Levato has spearheaded the effort to get the Office of Career Services up and running and to develop an innovative program. "A job search isn't just a one-time event," he says. "You don't want to just help students get jobs. You've got to teach them the skills that will enable them to identify the kind of organization they're best prepared to be successful in. And then you've got to teach them to sell themselves. That's our goal. Not just jobs--careers."
The Alumni Career Services Office has an approach that goes beyond the scope of the typical university placement office. The services and programs offered by the Office of Career Services include lectures, roundtable discussions, special mailings, company lists, resume distribution, networking with alumni and an alumni mentor program. The School has retained the services of local career management guru Tom McKenna, a nationally known expert who has helped hundreds of job seekers in the capital district get started on the career path of their choice. With McKenna's help, the School has developed two separate programs designed specifically to fit the needs of first- and second-year students.
In addition to the services offered by McKenna & Associates, the School of Business offers the following selections and opportunities and services: Select Student Resume Distribution, Alumni Mentor Program, Alumni Lectures, Women Entering Business Seminar, and Coordinating with the University Career Development Center.
"Placement of our graduates has always been a high priority at the School of Business," said Interim Dean Donald D. Bourque. "In the past, we've had to work on an ad hoc basis, with individual faculty members using their personal contacts to help the student get jobs. Now, thanks to alumni support, we're able to take the next step and offer some more formalized services."
Debra Suarez, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Educational Theory and Practice, has been awarded a Dissertation Grant from the American Educational Research Association (AERA), jointly funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Foundation Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Suarez, who is a University alumna (MS 1992), is working on her dissertation, entitled "Heritage Language Maintenance and Its Relationship with Second Language Instruction."