The Strategic Positioning of Career Services

Career Level: Basic-, intermediate-, and advanced-level career services, university relations and recruiting, and business affiliate professionals
Competency: Use of career, occupations, and employment information
Fee: FREE (member); $89 (nonmember);

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Summary

Considering the current economic, political, and social climate, career services needs to be strategically positioned on campuses to provide the vision, guidance, coordination, and relationships to demonstrate its importance and to maximize student outcomes. To explore this, NACE created the Strategic Positioning of Career Services Task Force. The work of the task force and subcommittees over the past year will be shared, providing insights to help us all to advance the profession. A road map will be offered, case studies shared, and the pipeline of future professionals along with career center future needs will be considered. We will also invite feedback and input from audience members.
Presenters

Suzanne Helbig, Associate Vice Provost, University of California - Irvine - Division of Career Pathways
Suzanne Helbig is the associate vice provost at the University of California, Irvine’s Division of Career Pathways. In her role, she leads the central career services operation that provides services for UC Irvine’s highly diverse undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students as well as its recent alumni. Prior to working at UC Irvine, Helbig held leadership, strategic communications, and career advising roles at the University of California, Berkeley’s Career Center. Helbig served on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Board of Directors, and her NACE involvement includes co-chairing committees; presenting at NACE’s inaugural Executive Leadership Symposium; delivering numerous annual conference presentations; and authoring articles and a book chapter. Helbig served on the Board of Directors of MPACE (Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers) and was awarded its Outstanding Service Award in 2017. Helbig was the Programme Chair for Global Career Services Summits in 2021 (online), 2020 (Singapore) and 2018 (Newcastle, UK). Helbig has been invited to speak at conferences in England, Ireland, Japan, and China. She has been interviewed by the New York Times, Inside Higher Ed, Fox News, ABC News, the San Francisco Chronicle, Time Magazine, New American Media, and the Orange County Register.  Helbig holds a Master of Arts in higher education from the University of Arizona. 

Kelli Smith, Assistant Vice President for Student Success, Binghamton University - SUNY
Kelli K. Smith serves as the assistant vice president for student success at Binghamton University, following the role as the founding director of the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development. In addition to leading some divisional and campus-wide initiatives in collaboration with academic affairs, her portfolio includes oversight of the Fleishman Center, Center for Civic Engagement, and Student Transition and Success, which she created with existing resources to better serve Binghamton students. She remains involved internationally in the field of career services, most recently joining the NACE Board of Directors, and has conducted numerous presentations and published in the field, including serving as editor for two Wiley New Directions books related to career services. She is adjunct faculty in both the School of Management and the Student Affairs master's program. She holds a master’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington and Ph.D. in leadership studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. LinkedIn connections are welcomed.

Branden Grimmett, Vice Provost, Career and Professional Development, Emory University
As of August 1, Branden Grimmett is associate dean in Emory College of Arts and Sciences and as vice provost for career and professional development. Prior to that, Grimmett joined Loyola Marymount University as associate provost in June 2015, where he led the university's career and professional development initiative. In this role, he oversaw the office responsible for successfully launching 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students into their professional careers. A frequent conference presenter and speaker, Grimmett specializes in student return on investment, the rebranding of career services, and measuring and reporting post-graduate outcomes. His work in the field of career services has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, the Education Advisory Board, The Lawlor Review, The Hechinger Report, the Career Leadership Collective, and the book Will College Pay Off? by Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School of Business.

Matthew Brink, Chief Programs and Content Officer, NACE
Matthew Brink is chief content and programs officer for the National Association of Colleges and Employers. He oversees professional development services, meetings and events, content, and all research initiatives. An experienced professional in the field, Brink has overseen career services in a variety of institutions, including, most recently, the University of Delaware, and has been active in employer-focused activities.