Career planning in an age of rapid change

Sheila Curran named director of Office of Career Planning Services

Sheila Curran, director of organizational planning and development, has been named director of the Office of Career Planning Services, effective July 1. Curran has been interim director of the office since last October.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Sheila Curran, currently director of organizational planning and development at Brown University, has been named director of the Office of Career Planning Services, according to an announcement today by Kenneth Sacks, dean of the College. Curran has been interim director of the office since last October.

"The world in which Brown graduates will pursue their careers is changing at an astonishing rate and in ways that all but defy prediction," Sacks said. "One of my highest priorities is to create an Office of Career Planning Services that will foster a broad-based appreciation of that new career environment and will serve a wider range of constituents, from first-year students to alumni. I am certain that Sheila Curran will develop that kind of a career planning service, and I am delighted to have her as a permanent, full-time colleague."

Renovations to the office - physical and conceptual - are already underway, Sacks said. The office space in Pembroke Hall is being refurbished and reorganized to make it more attractive and less daunting to students and to put greater emphasis on certain areas, including student employment and internships. The scope of the office is also being extended, with additional outreach to employers, faculty, alumni and entering first-year students in addition to the services already provided to graduating seniors.

Curran came to Brown in 1982 and has held a number of positions in the human resources area. She is widely known on campus for originating and supporting programs that enhance the personal and professional development of University staff, including the Management Development Program and Brown's annual Staff Development Day. In her employee relations capacity, she counseled more than 300 employees a year. She has also served as a management consultant to administrative and academic departments and to individual administrators who faced a variety of problems. Curran's successful approach to staff and career development, Sacks said, will give the Office of Career Planning Services a broader perspective on work-life issues facing students as well as alumni.

The search committee, chaired by Robert Ripley, associate dean of the College for health careers, conducted a national search and considered more than 200 applicants for the position. Curran will begin her tenure as director July 1; she will report directly to Sacks.