AMES, Iowa – An Iowa native is returning to his home state to serve as the next associate director for career services in Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Eric Anderson will join the CALS Career Services office on Feb. 25, where he will continue and build upon the office’s long history of supporting students as they seek experiences to enhance their resumes and apply for internships and jobs.
“We are so excited to have Eric join our college next month. His breadth of experience in career advising and guiding students as they develop their professional skills will serve our students well,” said Carmen Bain, associate dean for academic innovation in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “I want to extend a huge thank you to the interim CALS Career Services team of Christen Burgett, Susie Stearns, Paige Zhorne and Carah Mabry for all their hard work this past summer and fall as they organized the annual CALS Career Day and assisted our students with career readiness. Their efforts are truly appreciated.”
Anderson’s 20-year career in higher education career services has taken him from South Carolina, where he was a career advisor at the College of Charleston Career Center, to Idaho, where he has served for 10 years in the University of Idaho Career Services. During that time, he advanced from manager of career advising and professional development to his current position as associate director of employer relations, events and experiential learning.
While at Idaho, Anderson implemented a co-op program open to all majors within the university. He played a role in developing a career-ladder internship development program and an on-campus internship program to provide additional experiential learning opportunities for students. Anderson also led efforts to increase employer participation and student attendance at the University of Idaho’s career fair events by 20% and 30%, respectively, during the past five years.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theater from St. Ambrose University in Davenport and a master’s degree in integrated natural resources from the University of Idaho. He also has graduate certificates in restoration ecology, emergency planning and management, and nonprofit management.
At Iowa State, Anderson will lead strategic visioning for career readiness and employer engagement. He will oversee the Pathways to Innovation and Leadership program and collaborate with the CALS Development Office and ISU Foundation to strengthen employer, alumni and donor relationships. Anderson will also oversee the organization of the CALS Career Day, the largest agricultural career fair in the nation, which takes place each fall semester.
“I’m excited to return to Iowa and start making connections with students and employers,” Anderson said. “Iowa State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is known not just as the destination in the Midwest, but the entire U.S., for preparing students to be work-ready through education and experiential learning. CALS is known as the school students want to attend and employers want to recruit from.”
The associate director of career services is the first role to be filled in the CALS Career Services office following the retirement of long-time Career Services employees, Mike Gaul and Lois Benning, last summer. The assistant director for career services position will be posted in mid-February on the Iowa State Employment Opportunities website. The person in this role will manage the student experience related to careers, including the Pathways to Innovation and Leadership program. An additional position, a career services specialist, will be posted at a later date.
Contacts
Carmen Bain, CALS Office of Academic Innovation and Student Success, 515-294-9895, cbain@iastate.edu
Whitney Baxter, Agriculture and Life Sciences Communications, 515-294-2314, wjsager@iastate.edu