College Leaders Refocus Attention on Their Students’ Top Priority: Jobs After Graduation

Friday mornings on a university campus are usually quiet times. Savvy students plan their schedules to avoid Friday classes, getting a head start on their weekends. But at Brown University’s Center for Career Exploration, there’s a steady stream of visitors, checking out jobs and internships, meeting with advisers and occasionally stopping on the way out to scoop up a few pieces of hard candy from the bowl on the reception counter. In the multistory office, steps from the university’s main quad, everything is brand new, from the furniture to the stenciling on the window to some of the staff. After a two-year planning process, Brown has revamped and renamed its career center and is more than doubling its number of advisers, from 13 to 28.