NACE Excellence Awards
Recognizing outstanding contributions to the profession by NACE members.
Advancement of the Vision and Future
Leigh Turner
Ask Leigh Turner what her most significant contributions to her profession are and the answer comes easily.
“It’s my role in developing resources and training in the ethics of our profession,” says Turner, executive director of the career center at Texas A&M University.
As a member of NACE’s Principles for Professional Conduct Committee for six years, including the past two as committee chair, Turner has been involved in the committee’s initiative to educate NACE members about the ethics of the profession. This includes developing various training resources, training regional facilitators, and delivering workshops.
Also, Turner recently completed four years of service on the NACE Board as a regional director for the Southwest Association of Colleges and Employers (1999-2001) and as the Vice President—College (2001-03).
“In terms of the impact of our work on students, I couldn’t think of a more important committee than the Principles for Professional Conduct Committee,” Turner says. “I was fortunate to work with Alan Goodman, who had been the chair for six years and who teaches ethics in addition to serving as the director of career services at Catholic University. He is a terrific colleague and he has been a source of guidance and encouragement throughout the development and implementation of the ethics training resources.”
The Principles Committee ethics training resources consist of a facilitator’s guide and two PowerPoint presentations that can be adapted for a variety of audiences, a collection of 21 case studies, and an Ethics Users Guide that explains the rationale and intent of each principle. Turner was responsible for creating the guide and the presentations, and has taken the lead role in assembling the collection of case studies. She also assisted Goodman in editing the Ethics Users Guide.
Turner says the rapid pace of the world of work has necessitated more effective and efficient training for recruiters (including third-party recruiters) and career services professionals. “There has been increased turnover among our corporate colleagues,” she notes. “Because of that, [career services practitioners and employers] are in a constant mode of reestablishing relationships. Also, when the Principles Committee surveyed our NACE members in 2000 regarding their ethical issues of concern, the top issue voiced overall by college and employer members was the need for training in ethics.”
Turner has been executive director of the career center at Texas A&M University since 1991. Previously, she served as director of career services at the University of Arkansas from 1986-1991, and as assistant director from 1981-86.
Along the way, each phase of Turner’s career has provided different
fulfillments. “It really does differ at every stage of your career,”
Turner explains. “At this point, mentoring staff members and other
professionals is the most satisfying thing I do. But, it’s always
satisfying to know that the services and assistance we provide make a
difference in students’ lives. After all, that’s the bedrock
of what we do.”
