CCE launches Career Innovation Faculty Fellows Program

subhead — career competencies fused with academic content

[tk working draft]

The Center for Career Engagement (CCE) recently completed the pilot year of its Career Innovation Faculty Fellows Program and with its second cohort of the program already underway.

“We’re creating a career ecosystem that brings everyone together—faculty members, advisers, coaches, and other WashU community members who care about students’ career success,” said Director of Academic Partnerships Nan Barnes. “We’re building partnerships that make that kind of integration possible.”

The program helps faculty partner with CCE professionals to embed career development in their courses, building academic partnerships that link learning to career readiness.

This university-wide approach ensures that career thinking becomes part of students’ academic journey, not something separate from it.

IMPACT QUOTE/DATA

This work has so far centered on conducting a comprehensive needs assessment across the academic divisions to identify partnership opportunities and student support gaps. From this collaboration with the academic units, two main priorities have emerged—the Career Innovation Faculty Fellows and the Career Partners Network.

“The overall goal of our academic partnerships is to create meaningful points of connection between academic content and career competencies,” explained Barnes.

Practical examples of this integration are already emerging across disciplines. For instance, Joe Jez, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor and Spencer T. Olin Professor in Biology collaborated with the CCE’s coaching team to design and review an interview-based assignment, providing students with hands-on experience articulating their skills and interests. English faculty member, Heather McPherson incorporated publishing assignments to help students translate personal interests and academic learning into a coherent professional narrative. Three faculty members in Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering—Ray Ehrhard, Marcus Foston, and Trent Silbaugh—integrated career-focused assignments into their courses, guiding students through key stages of the career development process: self-reflection on values and skills, networking with professionals, and navigating the job search process.

“These examples illustrate how academic partnerships are helping students see the career relevance of their classroom experiences, reinforcing that career readiness is not a separate process, but an extension of their academic journey,” said Barnes.

“By fostering partnerships between educators and career professionals, the CCE is creating a sustainable framework for weaving professional growth into the academic fabric of the university,” said Barnes. “The effort not only prepares students for life after graduation but also strengthens the culture of exploration across campus—encouraging students to view their coursework as a space for discovering purpose, values and pathways beyond the classroom.”

[tk: lead into the launch of the below this fall]

Results from pilot cohort

165 students enrolled across all courses138 completed the pre-survey122 completed pre and post-survey (as of today)

Key demographics: 

54% Graduate; 46% Undergraduate (30% seniors)

Majority female students (70%) 

26% of undergrad students are first generation

38% of undergrad students considered “low-income”

top reported competencies developed

• communication 95
• professionalism 84
• self awareness 77
• leadershipi 63
• critical thinking 57

career confidence, career understanding, perception of career investment Increased from Pre to Post Assignment 

“I think this assignment reminded me of my transferable strengths… which gave me the confidence I had been lacking recently.”

“This assignment pushed me to think intentionally about how to present my experiences in a professional way. The only challenge was that it required time and reflection, but overall that made it more valuable.”

“Assignments like this make a meaningful difference in preparing us for real-world opportunities.”

“It pushed me to actually utilize the CCE to support things I was going to do anyways, such as working on my resume/cover letter. I found the advisors helpful, [and] I made more appointments than required and went to drop-in hours! I also learned that this is a resource still available to WashU graduates, which is great!”

85% of students surveyed indicated that they found it beneficial to have career-related assignments integrated into the class. and in fact it’s what they’re hungry for as 77% indicated they would like more career related assignments in future courses.

Most Frequently Listed Career Skills StudentsWould Find Helpful to Integrate in FutureAssignments 

Interview Practice 

Networking / Maintaining Connections 

Job Search / Resume 

Public Speaking / Professional Communication

list of pilot faculty fellows:

1. Lisa Gilbert, Senior Lecturer in Education 
2. Joe Jez, Spencer T. Olin Professor in Biology
3. Ragini Maddipati, Senior Lecturer in Public Health
4. Heather McPherson, Senior Lecturer in English
5. Ila Sheren, Associate Professor of Art History & Archaeology
6. Kristin Wyckoff, Senior Lecturer in Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering (*Kristen is leaving WashU this year)

quote molly thompson – she’s the program lead