Center for Career Development Recognized at NACE Awards

Established in 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) is a professional association that connects over 9,500 college career services professionals and over 3,200 university relations and recruiting professionals. NACE is the country’s 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.

Every year, the NACE Awards honor members’ outstanding achievements in the career services profession. NACE Excellence Awards are judged on program needs/objectives, content, design, creativity, innovation, measurable outcomes, and ease of replication. We are extremely proud of the fact that the University of Connecticut Center for Career Development has been recognized as a finalist or award winner every year for the past 6 years. This year is no different with NACE announcing their 2021 award nominees, recognizing UConn as a finalist in the following two categories:

  • Members’ Choice Award—Awarded to a department or individual who addresses a challenge, problem, or issue with an innovative change or improvement. We have been recognized as one of two finalists for the Virtual Summer Micro-Internship Program that was rolled out this past summer on our Stamford Campus.
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Excellence Award—Acknowledging excellence in best practices in nurturing and advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the programs and services we create and deliver to the students that we serve.

In addition to NACE, the Center for Career Development has been recognized regionally through multiple annual awards from the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers. Most recently the Career Center was recognized by the Career Leadership Collective with their 2020 Annual Career Innovation Award. Closer to home, two Career Center team members, Kay Gimball Gruder and Lisa Famularo, were recognized last week as winners of two of the five categories of the UConn Spirit Awards. Kay was selected as the University Citizen Award winner for exemplifying excellence in exhibiting University workplace values, and Lisa’s efforts in creating a campus climate where all members belong earned her the Inclusive Excellence Award.

The Career Center regularly innovates and creates meaningful programs for all UConn students and looks forward to continuing our legacy of serving as a national thought leader in the development and delivery of career services.

By Jim Lowe
Jim Lowe Associate Vice Provost, Executive Director