The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has recognized Denison University President Adam Weinberg for his exceptional efforts to promote and develop innovative approaches to career readiness and development with the inaugural 2017 Career Services Champion Award. The honor was awarded to President Weinberg at the NACE conference in Las Vegas on June 8.

Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director, said, “We inaugurated the NACE Career Services Champion Award to highlight a college or university president who has demonstrated forward-thinking or risk-taking leadership in support of career services/education; motivated a campus to embrace career services/education and provided the support to make it successful; supported career-related programming and internships for students from all economic backgrounds; supported the establishment of career-readiness programming; and supported career services/education beyond his or her own institution. As the first recipient of this award, Adam Weinberg sets an industry standard, and we look forward to bearing witness to his work at Denison in the future.”

Sheila Curran, a higher education consultant who works with colleges around the country on career transformation, was one of Weinberg’s nominators. “I’ve been deeply impressed and excited by the leadership of Adam Weinberg, whose vision for career exploration encompasses the entire campus. He thinks very holistically about how students prepare themselves for their future — and he recognizes that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach simply doesn’t work for everyone.”
 
She added, “President Weinberg inspires all parts of the community to pull together to help Denison’s students, not just for their first job, but for the rest of their lives. He’s continually asking what can we do during students’ time on campus that will positively affect their life-long trajectory — how can we help their lives hold more meaning.”

“He has established career readiness as a top priority of our strategic plan,” Laurel Kennedy, vice president for student development at Denison, said of Weinberg. “On his watch, the newly endowed and named Knowlton Center for Career Exploration has doubled both its footprint and its staff. Resources are in place to support  Denison students via internships, workplace skills training, national and global networking ventures, and new learning-by-doing programs. His core desire is to make Denison the best place for every student, not just those from advantaged backgrounds, to achieve lifelong personal, professional and civic success.”

“President Weinberg believes that some of the best learning is relational and career readiness is no exception. Through joint efforts of the president and academic leaders, faculty are committed to and increasingly involved in career initiatives being developed by Knowlton staff. Trustees, alumni and parents are actively engaging as mentors, volunteers and donors,” Kennedy added. “And, with his vision and support, we have created on-line delivery of an array of tactical professional skills-development modules designed for Denison students, as well as creative externship experiences and career excursions that connect students to mentors. The NACE award bears out the strong and thoughtful work we are doing at Denison to support our students as they achieve life-long success.”

President Weinberg added, “We want our graduates to be able to answer three questions: what kind of life do I want to live; how do careers and professions help people build those kinds of lives; and how do I use my time at Denison to develop the skills, values, habits, experiences and networks to get started.”

Weinberg added, “Denison is a great college with a long record of unlocking the potential of our students to be the architects of their lives. I am proud of the work we are currently doing to continue that Denison tradition.”

Established in 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) connects more than 7,900 college career services professionals at nearly 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide, more than 3,000 university relations and recruiting professionals, and the business affiliates that serve this community. NACE is the leading source of information on the employment of the college educated, and forecasts hiring and trends in the job market; tracks starting salaries, recruiting and hiring practices, and student attitudes and outcomes; and identifies best practices and benchmarks.