Hollins Appoints Executive Director of Career Development

Hollins University has named Karen M. Cardozo executive director of career development. She will oversee Hollins’ Career Center and its programs and services, implementing the university’s strategic goal of collaborating with internal and external partners to create career development initiatives that will engage students throughout their undergraduate education and beyond. Cardozo will serve as a consultant starting September 4 and will begin her full-time employment with Hollins on January 2, 2018. Cardozo has worked as a career counselor at Harvard University and at Williams College, as a dean of student and academic affairs at Mount Holyoke College, and as a faculty member on all campuses of the Five College Consortium of Western Massachusetts (Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts). She comes to Hollins from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in the Berkshires, where she was a tenured associate professor of interdisciplinary studies. Her World of Work course provides substantive coaching by putting the question “Who am I and where am I going?” into cultural, historical, and philosophical context while introducing key principles of life design. Another of her courses, Leading Women, fosters a more inclusive understanding of leadership. “I am well-equipped to translate career placement from the field back to the campus and vice versa: to educate families, employers, and the public about why a Hollins education is an excellent investment, and why hiring Hollins alumnae would be a smart move,” Cardozo said. Cardozo holds a Ph.D. in literary American studies from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst; a M.Ed. in higher education administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University; and a B.A. in English from Haverford College. She has authored articles for scholarly publications such as American Studies, Critical Sociology, Journal of Asian American Studies, and Pedagogy, and has presented on career, diversity, and women’s issues at the American Political Science Association; the Modern Language Association; National Women’s Studies Association; New York Leadership Education Conference; and the Society for Cultural Anthropology, as well as on many campuses. Informed by her work as a Ph.D. career coach for the international consulting firm The Professor Is In, she is currently completing a book entitled Careering Toward Authenticity: A Guide for Academics Who Want to Get a Life. Founded in 1842, Hollins is an independent liberal arts university offering undergraduate liberal arts education for women, selected graduate programs for men and women, and community outreach initiatives. Hollins graduates contribute to and succeed in a vast array of fields because their experience has included not only a broad education in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, but also internships, study abroad, undergraduate research, and leadership training.   Stay up-to-date on university news. Sign up for the bi-monthly Hollins News email.