Career Development Center Inventory

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Mount Holyoke College
Archives and Special Collections

Archival Inventory

Career Development Center , Records 1901-

Record Group Number: RG 7.5

Historical Sketch: The Appointment Committee was voted into existence by College faculty in 1901. Designed to collect and systematize post-College and summer job information for College students and graduates, the eight person Committee was chaired by a faculty member who was assisted by an executive secretary. The first secretary for the Committee was Florence P. Purington, class of 1886, who served from 1901-1929 and who oversaw all Committee details and kept up with correspondence. In 1920, Purington was appointed the first Dean of the College and from 1920-1925 the Appointment Committee was administered by this office. In 1928 the Committee's name changed to the Appointment Bureau and a Dean of Residence and an Academic Dean were appointed to supervise it. Helen Voorhees, class of 1915, then directed the administration of the Bureau from 1929-1958. The Appointment Bureau was renamed the Vocational Planning and Placement Office in 1963, with Drue E. Matthews, class of 1935, as director from 1959-1980, and again the name was changed in 1975 to the Office of Career Services. Charlotte Shea Rowlands, class of 1960, who directed from 1981-1994 and oversaw a name change in 1991 to the Career Resources Center, was followed in office by Philip Jones (1994-1999), and the Office changed its name to the Career Development Center in 1995. Despite name changes, the mission of the Center remained essentially the same: to provide students with a variety of resources to assist in their search for graduate schools and post-College employment. Also during the 1995/1996 academic year, the internship placement program became a division of the Center, although Campus and summer employment are presently administered by other offices.

Description of Records: The records of the Career Development Center (CDC) include annual reports, statistics, newsletters, forms, publications, instructions, recommendations, correspondence, financial records, committee records, photographs, press releases, student files, and questionnaires. They also contain information on the Seven College Career Service Directors meetings,the Five College Career Services Center projects and a published case study. The documents provide information on the CDC's activities and resources, including statistics on occupational choices of students and alumnae, salary ranges, employment tabulations, as well as recruiter visits to campus, reports on cooperative work within the dormitories, conferences, and student surveys.

Restrictions: Records restricted to use by office/department of origin for 25 years from date of record creation

Citation Information: Career Development Center Records, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections, South Hadley, MA.

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