Letters from the President

Letters from the President

Letter from the President: Mark Colvenbach

March 15, 2019 by 0 Comments

Hello SoACE members,

It’s hard to believe that we are already close to, or at, spring break for many of our schools. In addition, we are past the peak season for a good number our employer members. What a crazy and fast-paced semester I am guessing we all had.

We are now three-plus months past the annual conference in Atlanta. I would like to offer all members another challenge. Whether you attended the conference in December or not, I would like to suggest you consider making a small change or enhancement to what you are already doing. Each conference, webinar or phone call with a colleague offers an opportunity to implement a small nugget that can lead to a huge change and opportunity for your organization. With that, pull out your notes from the conference. Identify something you wrote down back in December that can possibly kick-start an idea you had always wanted to try in your office but never took the time to consider. In addition, there are a large number of opportunities SoACE has to offer via webinars, Knowledge Group conversations on Slack and member chats that can assist you with something you may be considering. Take this opportunity to take a deep breath, focus and test an idea out.

We want to hear from you. Share your best practice or idea with others. Get feedback and insight to this idea through the various SoACE channels to enhance and reality-test. It’s a great time of year to test out something new and use the summer to fine tune. In the meantime, please consider several other great avenues to gain insight to the best practices out there. Don’t forget to consider the Employer Relations Summit or webinar-based Technology Boot Camp. These annual programs can be an amazing resource to gain the latest and greatest to take your programs to the next level.

Please remember to share, seek feedback and make the most of the remaining Spring semester. We look forward to hearing about it.

Mark Colvenbach
2018-2019 SoACE President
The University of Tampa

Letters from the President

Letter from the President: Mark Colvenbach

November 16, 2018 by 0 Comments

The holiday season is a wonderful time to reflect on family, friends and the many blessings from the past year. It also marks the countdown to the Annual SoACE Conference taking place this December in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference committee has put a tremendous program together full of best practice breakout sessions, engaging keynotes and numerous opportunities to network with new and old friends. The coinciding social events will showcase the great city of Atlanta and provide a platform to continue the dialogue that is sure to ensue throughout the conference. We look forward to seeing so many of our members soon.

As the Fall semester winds down and Spring planning begins, I want to challenge SoACE members to try something new…even if it’s just a slight variation on something from the recent past.  It’s critical for our professional mission to continually seek new and diverse opportunities to meet the ever-changing needs of our students and key stakeholders. By engaging colleagues at the conference and throughout the year, you create an opportunity to find that extra “nugget” that may take your program to the next level. As a member, you have 24/7 access to like-minded professionals via the Knowledge Groups (KGs), frequent webinars, resources to serve diverse student populations and more.

At many of our organizations, the time is now for our profession to take that next step. Career Services and Talent Management are at an all-time high on the priority lists of many leaders. The more we embrace our critical roles, the more success it will ultimately lead to for our students; especially as career readiness and competency development envelops campuses and the world of work. I am confident SoACE, in strong collaboration with our state associations and consortia, is positioned to deliver the relevant content and best practice sharing that will help you achieve your ultimate success. Your SoACE “Family” wishes you all the best this holiday season and beyond.

Happy Holidays,

Mark

Letters from the President

Letter from the President – Mark Colvenbach

August 17, 2018 by 0 Comments

A Look Ahead: The Conference and Beyond.

SoACE leadership and the many volunteers who make this association so incredible are hard at work planning an amazing conference in Atlanta for members this December.  In addition, it’s becoming just as important to provide relevant resources and content throughout the year.  From webinars to best practices, SoACE has truly become a colleague you can rely on to assist you in meeting your goals.

Just last month, the new SoACE board met to discuss what’s going on with membership, Knowledge Groups (KGs), Diversity & Inclusion, professional development and everything in between.  It was during this time that we also discussed the next year and beyond.   A quick snapshot is included to provide you with some insight into the goals leadership will be focused on.

An exciting venture we are working on is how SoACE can continue to work collaboratively with state associations and related consortia.   This has always been critical to SoACE, but we are excited to further explore opportunities to learn from each other, share best practices and expand resource and leadership opportunities for our members.   We believe by doing this, SoACE will further develop its membership and create additional quality leadership opportunities within the organization.

It is imperative that SoACE continues to seek opportunities to strengthen our employer membership while providing an opportunity for employer members to both engage with each other and with career services partners.   A task force was appointed earlier this year to identify opportunities to expand employer services.  The Conference Planning Committee has done a tremendous job of focusing on this initiative, as exemplified by the planned reception at the Metro Atlanta Chamber during the conference.  Please register in advance to take advantage of this great opportunity to connect with current SoACE employer members as well as local Atlanta company reps.

For most, professional development and networking are the key reasons why members choose to join SoACE.   With this at the center of nearly everything we do, SoACE will continue to offer a variety of opportunities throughout the year, while focusing on what brings value to our members the most.  We want to ensure that your time is used wisely; whether it is participation on a webinar, KG, networking session or through a variety of other outlets.  We have taken steps to improve the sharing of best practices utilizing technology that our leadership and KGs are currently piloting.  We look forward to continued and newfound success in the near future.

In closing, I want to thank you for your membership in SoACE.   Your continued involvement and future interactions will help shape what’s next for SoACE in many ways.  I want to encourage you to register for the conference being hosted in Atlanta, GA, December 2-5, 2018. I can assure you this year’s theme of Activate | Transform | Lead will hit on everything you expect and more from a conference.  If early indications are correct, we are in for a truly amazing conference as registrations are up, keynotes are set and events are being planned.  Don’t miss out – we look forward to seeing each of you there.

 

Mark Colvenbach
2018-2019 SoACE President
The University of Tampa