UC Merced’s Center for Career and Professional Advancement has long been a source of campus pride for the quality services it provides to students, and now it can add national recognition to its list of accomplishments.
The center recently won the Career Services Excellence: Large College award from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) for its innovative student professional development programs and employer relations initiatives during a post-recession era. Other category finalists were the University of Georgia, University of Miami and UC Irvine.
The campus’s entry, “Powering Up the Recovery: Rebuilding the Post-Recession Talent Pipeline,” highlights unique programs that were established to improve the talent pipeline of the San Joaquin Valley region through proactive outreach, employer-led training seminars and experiential development with local and regional employers.
“The NACE award represents the premiere award for campus career services throughout the nation, and it is an incredible honor to be recognized for the work that students, faculty, campus partners and our team implemented over the past year,” said interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Campus Life and Director for the Center for Career and Professional Advancement Brian O’Bruba. “We are excited to build a thriving and healthy economic environment for the San Joaquin Valley.”
The competition is national in scope and recognizes the outstanding achievements of college career services and human resources professionals. NACE represents more than 1,800 four- and two-year colleges and more than 900 employers who hire college graduates. According to NACE, the entries were judged on program need/objectives, relevance to target market, integration, design and use of medium, creativity, innovation, measurable outcomes, and ease of replication.
The UC Merced staff members were honored for their winning entry at the NACE Annual Conference Innovation Showcase Awards Ceremony on June 4 in Anaheim.
Brenda Ortiz
Senior Public Information Representative
Office: (209) 228-4203
Mobile: (209) 628-8263
