From higher education research to popular news sources to conversations with students, we’re seeing the increased emphasis that current students and prospective families place on how well a college will prepare them for post-graduate life. An active alumni network holds many keys that can open doors for students in expanding their networks, fostering career exploration, and through generating job/internship opportunities. A strong emphasis on alumni-to-student engagement and alumni-to-alumni engagement are both critically important.

Given this strategic and helpful partnership, we are excited to begin a new chapter for career support for both students and alumni as the Career Center officially joins the Development and Alumni Relations Department this June. By merging these two areas, the college is able to combine resources and strengthen the network between the alumni community and current students.

As career services on college campuses have evolved and shifted over time to better meet the changing needs of students, as well as better prepare them for post-graduate life, so has the organizational structure of these departments changed as well. Nationally, there has been movement within the last decade to transition career offices from Student Life/Student Affairs to another area on campus, much like we’re doing here at Luther. In fact, according to a recent Forbes article citing research from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, in 2008, 68% of career services sat within a student affairs division, while only 47% do today. Additionally, many strong peer institutions are experiencing phenomenal results with a structure that places career services, alumni, and development under one operating umbrella: St. Olaf College, Whitman College, and Pacific Lutheran University all serve as strong examples of this model. In each of these cases, direct results point to increased external career exploration opportunities for students, and simultaneously, increased engagement from alumni, in both giving of time and dollars.

At the core, the work and mission of the Career Center team remains the same: to reach all students with the tools and resources they need to design their unique path toward satisfying work and meaningful lives. The recent creation of the Associate Dean for Integrated Academic and Career Development has played an important role towards this objective. This latest move now establishes a direct-line between Alumni Relations and the Career Center. Together, these developments build strategic partnerships to more effectively serve our students, ensuring they are connection-ready for what lies ahead, while also exploring how to expand career-support touchpoints for alumni throughout the various stages of their careers.

We look forward to partnering with our campus community as we discover new opportunities for collaboration within this new model. This critical work cannot stay confined to the walls of the career center. Engaging the entire campus ecosystem is necessary as we support our students and alumni in living lives of impact, with careers shaped by their passions and inspired by their limitless curiosity.