Greg Skelley has been appointed Executive Director of Felician University’s new Center for Personal and Professional Development – formerly the Career Development Center.  Greg comes to Felician with decades of involvement in workforce development and higher education.

Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Dr. Ron Gray, remarked, “Mr. Skelley is a passionate and creative professional.  He brings many years of experience and expertise to the position and will support our work to achieve the goal of the Center in addressing the employment needs of our students.”

The mission of the Center for Personal and Professional Development is to engage with students beginning in their freshmen year as they explore different career and vocation opportunities. “Our work could begin with a simple mentoring session between a student and a faculty member,” says Mr. Skelley. “Ultimately our goal is to further incorporate career development into the actual classroom, making sure we are not waiting for the students to come to us.”

The CPPD will continue to offer programs for resume writing, interviewing skills, and internships, but will also include cooperative education opportunities where students blend classroom time with employment to gain real life experience in their chosen fields of study. “Right from the get-go our work will include involvement with faculty and deans to incorporate industry at the best reference point, right in the classroom.”

Mr. Skelley says the “Personal” part of the Center’s work will be looking at each student in a Franciscan way, as a whole person and not just someone performing work.  Students will learn important people skills which Greg calls the soft skills.  “So you will learn how to deal with people, how to talk to people, and how to keep the character of “you” while you are performing a function.  It’s about you as a person and how you impact with other people.”

Working alongside Mr. Skelley is the Center’s Assistant Director Emilie Casiano, and Michelle Markowicz, a Career Advisor. Each will work to make sure Felician is fully engaged with employers, and that employers are fully engaged with Felician. “When I say employers, it could be volunteer organizations, it could be whatever your vocation life is, it could be non-profits, whatever that student’s career pathway is, our job is to connect them along that pathway, and that includes stackable credentials,” said Mr. Skelley. The Center will also partner Felician Alumni with employers, to help them realize their next career adventure.  Mr. Skelley calls his work, “awesome and a joy.”

The Center for Personal and Professional Development is located on the first floor of the Student Union building.  To connect with Greg Skelley you can email him at skelleyg@felician.edu.