We Are Career Champions
Dear DU community members,
On Friday, I attended the ninth annual Faculty Career Champions Breakfast. This is one of my favorite events because it celebrates the ways our faculty help students grow and develop. It's even more special because students nominate their faculty for this honor. This year, an incredible 143 faculty were nominated and, while each nomination is worthy of celebration, 20 were chosen to receive an Award of Excellence.
The best part of the event is watching faculty members open their student’s nomination letter. For many, this stirs emotion, and it's a beautiful reminder about why educating our students is so meaningful and fulfilling. I want to share a couple quotes from the students’ nominations:
On Friday, I attended the ninth annual Faculty Career Champions Breakfast. This is one of my favorite events because it celebrates the ways our faculty help students grow and develop. It's even more special because students nominate their faculty for this honor. This year, an incredible 143 faculty were nominated and, while each nomination is worthy of celebration, 20 were chosen to receive an Award of Excellence.
The best part of the event is watching faculty members open their student’s nomination letter. For many, this stirs emotion, and it's a beautiful reminder about why educating our students is so meaningful and fulfilling. I want to share a couple quotes from the students’ nominations:
One faculty member encouraged a student to present at a conference: “After presenting, I was incredibly grateful for the encouragement, as my success in putting the talk together and presenting it added substantially to my ability to believe in myself and my ability to do challenging things.” — Graduate student in the Daniels College of Business
And another helped a student develop critical skills in and out of the classroom: “Within the course, [my faculty career champion] helped me improve my CV, practice for a mock interview, plan out my personal statement for grad school, start thinking about which types of programs would be the best fit, and collaborated with me on a research project. He also challenges my way of thinking, helping me [refine] my research methods and hypotheses. It helps that we think very differently.” — Undergraduate student in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
And another helped a student develop critical skills in and out of the classroom: “Within the course, [my faculty career champion] helped me improve my CV, practice for a mock interview, plan out my personal statement for grad school, start thinking about which types of programs would be the best fit, and collaborated with me on a research project. He also challenges my way of thinking, helping me [refine] my research methods and hypotheses. It helps that we think very differently.” — Undergraduate student in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Thank you to our colleagues in the Center for Career and Professional Development who make this event possible. They are just one reason why the Center was ranked #24 in the U.S. by students in the Princeton Review. A shoutout also goes to the deans and teams across DU for your focus on faculty-student mentorship and careers. Daniels is a great example among many. You might expect excellent career outcomes in a business school, but it takes strategic focus to make it happen. The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences is also laser-focused on the careers of students in the liberal arts. The combination of outstanding liberal education ethos and exceptional outcomes is a winning strategy for DU.
Our success is apparent in career outcomes, job placement, and starting salaries. This matters. Prospective students and families include career outcomes as a key decision factor when choosing a school. To further grow in this area, we have changed the reporting line of the Career Center into the Provost’s Office, and one of Provost Loboa’s three goals is working on improving career outcomes with a focus on AI readiness.
Faculty-student engagement is a big part of what makes us DU. And career development is a dimension in the DU 4D Experience. As we move through the year, let’s celebrate proof points like our Career Champions and the good news and good work happening across campus each day.
Until next week, DU.
Jeremy