On the heels of Wellesley College’s public launch of the Wellesley Effect campaign, Wellesley College President H. Kim Bottomly announced in late October that Christine Yip Cruzvergara will serve as the school’s first Executive Director and Associate Provost for Career Education.
Bottomly’s announcement of the hire occurred five days after the Oct. 23 public launch of the $500 million Wellesley Effect campaign at the Dorothy Towne Field House. Once Cruzvergara assumes her new position on Jan. 25, Cruzvergara will be tasked with implementing the College to Career Initiative, which is a key part of the Wellesley Effect’s 21st Century Impact pillar. The College to Career Initiative was established through an anonymous joint $50 million alumnae campaign gift that is the largest single donation in Wellesley College history.
Wellesley College Vice President for Resources and Public Affairs Cameran Mason explained that Cruzvergara will be responsible for implementing the sweeping vision of the College to Career Initiative, which is “to create greater opportunity for women in the 21st Century and to empower the next generation of women leaders.”
In her unique role, Cruzvergara will lead the college’s effort to reshape how it teaches Wellesley students about the myriad of career opportunities accessible to them. According to Mason, Cruzvergara’s role will encompass a wide breadth of areas related to Wellesley’s Center for Work and Service (CWS), which has existed for over 40 years and connects students and alumnae to employment opportunities, community engagement and career services.
“In the newly defined Executive Director role, Christine will lead the transformation of Wellesley’s career services function…She will develop and implement a new organizational structure, operating budget, and functional emphasis for the College’s existing Center for Work and Service,” Mason wrote.
According to Mason, Cruzvergara’s efforts to accomplish her goals will involve a wide range of members of the Wellesley College community that includes Wellesley’s alumnae network, which is often said to be the world’s most potent women’s network.
Cruzvergara will focus on forging “new pipelines” between the college and new employers.
“Under Christine’s leadership, College to Career will will collaborate with faculty members and student affairs officers to facilitate undergraduate career exploration and alumnae career transitions, as well as the honing of self-presentation and other job seeking and career advancement skills,” Mason wrote.
Mason added that in addition to strengthening the college’s current relationships with employers,
Cruzvergara will focus on forging “new pipelines” between the college and new employers.
“Under Christine’s leadership, College to Career will enable Wellesley to strengthen our voice and influence through the remarkable work of our faculty, students and alumnae and by forging partnerships around the globe,” Mason explained.
Cruzvergara is currently Assistant Dean and Executive Director of University Career Services at George Mason University in Fairfax County, Virginia and serves over 33,000 students in this capacity while heading a staff of over 20 professionals.
Before she started serving at George Mason University in 2011, Cruzvergara held various other career services positions at Christine held positions in career services and student life at Georgetown University, George Washington University and the University of Maryland.
Cruzvergara has spoken on and been published in the field of career services, and her contributions have been acknowledged by the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the Association of College Personnel Administrators. Cruzvergara chaired the latter organization’s Commission for Career Development.
Cruzvergara holds a Masters of Arts from the University of Maryland, College Park and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Family Studies from James Madison University.
In her college announcement, Bottomly discussed why she and the search committee were drawn to Cruzvergara.
“The search committee and I were impressed by Christine’s energy, depth and breadth of vision, and commitment to the liberal arts,” Bottomly wrote.
Members of the search committee who recruited and hired Cruzvergara come from a variety of positions affiliated with Wellesley College.
The 12-member list includes Vice President for Resources and Public Affairs Cameran Mason ’84, Trustee Sue Wagner ’82, Associate Dean of Students Carol Bate and Associate Professor of Music Gurminder Bhogal.
The search committee was first chaired by Associate Professor of English Lisa Rodensky ’84 and then by Associate Professor of Economics Akila Weerapana.
Kelsey Brooke Burhans ’17 said that the CWS helped her earn a competitive summer analyst internship and learn about Wellesley and Boston career events. However, she said that MyCWS, a CWS website in which students can register for events and learn about career opportunities, could use some improvements.
“While useful, MyCWS can be inconsistent with information between Wellesley and the businesses that advertise on the interface. The system is also not very easy or efficient to use,” Burhans commented.
Christine Yang ’19 said that while she has not signed up for any CWS events, she has had a positive experience with the MyCWS website so far, calling it “easy to navigate.”
Cruzvergara comes to Wellesley with her husband, Alex, and son, Andreas.
