Denison has earned the 2025 Career Services Pursuit of Excellence Award, adding another accolade to its growing list of recognition for its work in career preparation.
The peer-awarded honor, given by the Career Leadership Collective, celebrates Denisons holistic and long-standing commitment to industry-leading career services. Denisons Melanie Murphy and Ryan Brechbill accepted the honor at a ceremony in New Orleans in April.
Making career launch a central part of our classic liberal arts education has required focus, commitment, time, and attention to nuance, said 窪蹋勛圖厙 President Adam Weinberg. As we get it right, our students are launching quicker and with more success, which is our ultimate goal. I am proud that the great work of our career services team is valued so highly by our peers.
Princeton Review has ranked Denison #4 for career services among all U.S. colleges and universities. Denisons career model is helping students develop the skills, habits, networks, and experiences they need to launch quickly and successfully into their preferred careers.
We have an amazing team that works incredibly hard to support our students in achieving their goals, said Murphy, director of career communities and coaching at Denison. Our partnerships with faculty and programs across campus give our students continual access to career information and processes not just when they come to our offices.
Denisons career-forward education helps students answer three pivotal questions:
- What are my values and passions, and how do they fit into the life I want to lead?
- What career paths can help me build that life?
- How can I get what I need to enter that life successfully?
The Knowlton Center’s Big Red Career Expo provides a dynamic opportunity for students to connect with employers.
The college utilizes every year of a students time at Denison toward this goal. Dozens of career-oriented programs and opportunities are built into every semester, summer, and seasonal break. The Knowlton Center for Career Exploration liaises with every academic department to share data, provide joint programming, and hold events for students.
Our career coaches help guide students through all the ways they can build a resume that will help onboard them into their preferred career, said Brechbill, director of employer and alumni relations at Denison. Each experience scaffolds onto the one before it. Every student builds their own tailor-made resume.
Even before they begin classes, first-year students can create friendships and learn through career exploration and alumni networking sessions in business or health career-related off-campus orientations.
Based in nearby Columbus, Ohio, offers short in-person and online certificate and credential programs that help students build skills. Edge offers courses such as AI for Industry & Innovation and Financial Statements for Decision Making, which are taught by industry professionals. Students build their career networks as they learn the skills they need in todays workplaces.
A strong focus on partnerships with employers and Denison alumni boosts student success in landing internships that align with their career goals. The college also provides stipends to supplement low- or no-paying opportunities. In 2023-24, the Knowlton Center invested $822,000 to provide our students with foundational career-exploration experiences.
We used to benchmark against other career centers, said Murphy. Now theyre calling us.
More about the Career Services Pursuit of Excellence Award
This unique annual award is for campuses chosen by the . These campuses exude a high commitment to growth and quality in the following five areas:
- Career Services Strategic Planning
- Career Staff Leadership Development
- Career Outcomes Data Analysis and Visualization
- Scaled and Equitable Career Services
- Career Team Professional Development