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By: Amy Charles | June 16, 2023
The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is excited to announce the creation of a new campus career services center for students. The Center for Career, Vocation, and Leadership, directed by Kay Webb, Ph.D., follows a career development model that will integrate into the curriculum, focused on helping students explore how their disposition and interests fit into the workforce. This comprehensive program has been created to help students find opportunities in and out of the classroom for career development and leadership.
Along with a passion for helping students achieve success, Webb brings decades of experience at the collegiate level as both an educator and a counselor. She is transitioning from her current position as visiting associate professor of psychology to direct the new career center. In this new role, Webb plans to expand the career services already being offered at UPIKE to include career and leadership development opportunities for all students, beginning from the moment they first step foot on campus.
“I am very excited to be joining the University of Pikeville in the Center for Career, Vocation, and Leadership! UPIKE has done a great job of laying a foundation in career development for students,” said Webb. “Students, and their families, need to know that we care deeply about preparing students for the work they will do when they leave ‘the hill’ while also ensuring students receive a quality education.”
The liberal arts education at UPIKE already instills the soft skills employers are looking for, like how to be a critical thinker and problem solver with good communication skills. The newly reimagined career center will help students articulate how their education relates to the skills needed for their chosen career field and not solely rely on their transcripts.
The goal is not just for students to pursue a major but to explore ways to create a pathway to their career. Through collaboration with faculty, staff, student organizations, alumni and community partners, the Center for Career, Vocation, and Leadership will help support this effort. Assistant Provost Amanda Slone, Ph.D., is thrilled this reimagined career services endeavor is being led by Webb.
“I am confident that Dr. Webb’s experience and expertise, partnered with the innovative work happening across campus, will prepare our students for the future in the best possible ways,” said Slone. “Her expertise will tremendously benefit our students, and we are blessed to have her in this role.”
The launch of the Center for Career, Vocation, and Leadership will not only offer students the best methods for career and leadership preparation, but it will also fulfill UPIKE’s Quality Enhancement Plan, which Webb will oversee. Every ten years, during the university’s re-accreditation through SACSCOC, UPIKE chooses a new area of focus for the QEP that identifies an area to strengthen, centered on student success and learning outcomes. For the most recent accreditation cycle, UPIKE’s QEP is focused on career and leadership development and is called the PEAK (Professional Exploration And Knowledge) Program.
The UPIKE Center for Career, Vocation, and Leadership is located on the second floor of the Armington Building. Please visit upike.edu for more information.