Staff

Jim Lowe

Associate Vice Provost, Executive Director

In my current role, I focus on the strategic leadership of the Center for Career Development and strive to create a university-wide career readiness culture that prepares students for post-graduation success. My priorities center on ensuring that our team delivers comprehensive, innovative, and inclusive programs for all students that we serve while cultivating connections to campus and community partners promoting opportunities for students to become contributing members of the state, national and world communities.

Through my work, I collaborate with students, faculty and staff across all disciplines and campuses. Additionally, I work with corporate and state leaders to ensure equal access to meaningful experiential learning opportunities as well as post-graduation success. The work of the Center for Career Development has been recognized both regionally and nationally for innovation in services and programming and collaboration both within UConn and through our external partners.

I currently serve on the Board of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), a professional association that connects over 14,600 college career services professionals, university relations and recruiting professionals, and the business solution providers that serve this community. NACE is the 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.

I also serve as the Chairperson of the Student Employability Group and sit on the Student Experience Steering Committee for Universitas 21. U21 is a global network that brings together 28 world-leading, research-intensive universities that share a common belief in the value of collaboration and internationalization. Programs are designed to benefit staff, students and member institutions, through sharing resources, learning together and co-designing solutions to our common challenges. U21’s dynamic approach has helped nurture a global network of over 1 million students and 200,000 staff, inspiring institutional innovation for over 20 years.


Bio

Hometown: Smithtown, New York and LaJolla California

Things I enjoy: Spending time with family and friends. Cooking (NOT baking!). Traveling (two states left on my list – Alaska and Idaho).

Advice to students: “There is no passion to be found in playing small — in settling for a life that
is less than you are capable of living.” — Nelson Mandela

Education

Fairfield University, Fairfield Connecticut
Bachelor of Arts, English

Previous Roles

  • Assistant Dean – UConn School of Business
  • Executive Director – UConn School of Business Career Center
  • Senior Vice President – Lee Hecht Harrison
  • Regional Vice President – Leslies Swimming Pool Supplies
  • Vice President, National Sales and Operations – Leslie’s Swimming Pool Supplies
  • Director of Training and Organizational Development – Warner Bros. Filmed Entertainment
  • Director of Training and Organizational Development – Linens ‘n Things
  • Manager of Training – Abraham & Straus
  • Regional Trainer – The Gap
  • Store Manager – The Gap