May 17–19, 2018

Chair Cuong Do ’88 reviewed the agenda for the meeting:

  1. Benchmarking and the Center for Professional Development
  2. Next steps for the committee
  3. Break out into working groups

Roger Woolsey, director of the Center for Professional Development (CPD), introduced the topic of benchmarking and how the CPD compares to the Liberal Arts Career Network and the programs of other Ivies. According to Woolsey, the data he put together with Eva Wang ’19 indicates Dartmouth lags behind other schools in funding and in resources available to students.

Woolsey meets with all the career directors at the Ivy Plus conference every year. Some offices are better funded than others. Employers are finding other ways to reach students through technology.

Potential partners include:

  • The Dartmouth Lawyers Association
  • Faculty members
  • Tuck Career office
  • Thayer Career office
  • Key employer recruiters

Practical tools such as workshops in the Microsoft suite would be helpful for students. The Tuck Bridge program has become very popular for undergraduates, and it may be offered more often.

Walter Palmer ’90 has been named the new director of Lifelong Connections and Professional Programs. He is very excited to work with programs that can assist both students and alumni with career development.

The committee hosted a Future of Work symposium at the end of April. Approximately 135 undergraduates and 140 graduate students/alumni/others attended the symposium, and it was extremely well-received. Future programs might include partnerships with DEN or Women of Dartmouth. Next year the committee would like to plan two symposia — one that focuses on alumni and another that focuses more on students, while still open to alumni. 

A letter from the Internship Working Group titled “Enhancing Dartmouth Students: Experiential Learning and Professional Development Opportunities” will be sent to groups, clubs, and classes. Reunion classes might be interested in funding internships as part of their class projects.

The Student Experiential Learning Fund (SELF) has less funding than what is available through Dickey, Rocky, and Tucker. However, more students apply to SELF than to the other centers. Less than 50 percent of students who apply to SELF received funding this year. Faculty should recognize the importance of internship funding. Student surveys could record the experiences students had during their internships.

Student Engagement Working Group chair Michelle LaFond ’83 reviewed the activities of the year, including networking events and the symposium. She also shared some suggestions from the group, including identifying varying needs by class year. Informal networking can take place on a walk or over coffee. Opportunities include interview prep with alumni, programming at the house communities, teaching students how to network, and partnering with Women of Dartmouth or DEN.

During the winter break, local clubs could offer internships, teach interview skills, or review resumes. A “program in a box” could be offered to the internship chair of clubs. Councilors could offer resume review during their meetings. First year students and sophomores may have different needs.

Todd Donovan ’92 Th’92 will serve as chair of the committee next year. Walter Foster ’83 was elected vice chair. The committee thanked Cuong Do for his leadership.