 5 Questions With...
Lorie Logan-Bennett
Director, Towson University Career Center
Since starting in January as the Director of the TU Career Center what role does the Career Center play in preparing our students for the workforce and life after graduation?
The Career Center's mission is to get TU students connected: connected to majors and careers that fit with their interests, skills, and values; connected to experiential learning opportunities and resources that will allow them to prepare and market themselves; and connected to employers and graduate schools for a smooth and successful post-Towson University transition.
What services does the Career Center offer TU students and alumni?
The Career Center offers students and TU grads a full range of comprehensive career services, starting with career decision-making tools for those investigating career options and continuing all the way through job postings for more experienced alumni. Current students and alumni within two years of graduation have access to one-on-one career advising for assistance with career choice, career skill enhancement and job search. This individualized assistance ranges from resume critiques and mock interviews, to career counseling and job search strategizing. Additionally, current undergraduate and graduate students and all alumni can take advantage of multiple career-related resources and tools, including free Hire@TU accounts, job fairs, on-campus recruitment, and access to both online resources and the Career Resource Center.
What type of relationships does the Career Center have with local and regional employers?
The TU Career Center has relationships with employers in a wide range of industries. Organizations such as CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Legg Mason, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Deloitte & Touche, Kennedy Krieger Institute, National Security Agency, and Target regularly visit Towson's campus to recruit and connect to TU's talent for their internship, part-time and full-time staffing needs. Employers know they can count on Towson to generate smart, hard-working candidates who will contribute to their bottom line and the Career Center works to recommend and implement targeted recruitment plans for their particular hiring needs.
Has the Career Center developed any new programs in response to the current economic recession?
While the Career Center has many strong employer partnerships, we are undergoing a strategic effort to develop new relationships with employers who may be familiar with the quantity and caliber of our graduates, but who perhaps have not had the opportunity to receive assistance with their recruitment efforts. In targeting employers who hire TU alumni, as well as other prominent organizations in the region, we're hoping to broaden the opportunities available to our students. From an educational standpoint, we're developing ways to effectively market to students all the Career Center has to offer so they understand they're not alone in tackling their job search during these challenging times. We're also spreading the word that students need to be focused on starting the whole process early. Equally important, we're working to have students both understand and communicate what they have to offer employers and to provide multiple strategies and venues for their personal marketing efforts.
Can you tell us about The Career Center's upcoming events?
We're wrapping up this spring with our Mega Job Fair scheduled for March 31st from 12-3pm in the University Union. Job seekers are invited to attend and connect with employers such as the Defense Information Systems Agency, GBMC, Lutheran Social Services, T. Rowe Price, PNC Financial Services Group, and many more! We're also collaborating on several campus events in April, including a series of career conversations focusing on issues of workplace diversity and an informational and networking event focused on the career needs of our campus' liberal arts students. Additionally, on-campus interviews, Career Center mobile units, and a graduate school test prep event are all scheduled to take place later this spring. Information on all these and more can be found on the Career Center's calendar of events.
Towson University 2016
 Soliciting Feedback to Ensure Workforce Readiness
The TU2016 plan will continue to solicit feedback from our students, graduates, employers, and business and government leaders to continually assess our success in meeting marketplace demands. Our annual survey of graduating seniors at commencement, our Hire@TU satisfaction survey of 700 employers and alumni focus groups in the past 3 years have been instrumental in ensuring Towson University's 125,000 graduates worldwide are meeting workforce needs.
2016 Plan | Guiding Principles
New in the News
Read up on the latest higher education issues that have appeared in the news recently:
 Hearing and budget Information
Budget Update:
The House Appropriations Committee voted the budget bill out of committee Friday night. Debate on the floor of the House of Delegates will begin at 4pm on Wednesday, March 23rd with the expectation that the debate will conclude with passage on Friday. The University System of Maryland budget was reduced $8.1M, with flexibility on how to apply the reduction across the USM. Budget language is included for reports on various items.
For specifics on the budget, please refer to the House Appropriations Committee Report on House Bill 70 -- the Budget Bill and House Bill 72 -- the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act
Points of interest to higher education include:
* page 6 higher education reductions
* page 16 amendments 28-31 pension reform
* page 22 amendment 56 voluntary separation program language
* Page 28 Pension Reform Information
The reprint of HB70 Budget Bill
The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee will receive the sub-committee recommendations on Thursday, March 24th. The full committee will debate the recommendations and form their budget recommendations for the State of Maryland.
For more bill information, please click here.
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