Office of Career Development

Collection

Identifier: BC05-09

Staff View

Collection Scope and Content Summary

The Career Services collection contains materials relating to the history of career placement and job training programs at Barnard College, from 1911 until 2003. The collection contains annual reports, which detail the organizational changes within the Career Services office, as well as the change in mission and role over time. The collection also contains annual reports from the Internship Program, from the years 1980 to 1989, which provided Barnard students with internships over the summer and during the intersession, in order to assist them with acquiring job skills or securing a position upon graduation from Barnard.

The Career Services collection also contains materials relating to special programs and events offered by the office, including: the Radio Summer Institute, which was a partnership between NBC and Barnard College to provide students with skills necessary for a career in radio and television broadcasting; the Vocational Conferences and workshops; and Community Service workshops, an “experimental program” designed to provide skill acquisition and counseling for women (not just Barnard alumnae) who were interested in entering or returning to the job market.

The Career Services office maintained records of student employment post graduation, from the years of 1958 to 1979. The collection also contains newsletters from the Career Services office from 1974 to 1986, which show the breadth of offerings for students from the Career Services office. Finally, the collection also contains a filing cabinet containing student aluma registration cards from 1915 to 1992.

Dates

Creation: 1905 - 2018

Creator

Barnard College. Office of Career Development (Organization)

Access

This collection has no restrictions.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Reproductions Restrictions

Single photocopies or scans may be made for research purposes.

Historical Background

The Barnard Career Services office was first established as the Associate Alumnae of Barnard College Committee on Employment, in 1911. Its purpose then was to place Barnard students and alumnae at full or part-time jobs appropriate to their studies while at Barnard. Yearly reports from this time period list the number of positions available, gleaned through word of mouth and postings provided by organizations.

Following 1921, the Associate Alumnae of Barnard College Committee on Employment became the Occupation Bureau. This change in name also signaled a change in the role of the Occupation Bureau. In a report on the years 1921 to 1922, the Occupation Bureau outlined the new record keeping process, similar to fellow institution Vassar, in which the office kept each student’s “scholastic record, her extra-curricular interests and vocational plans as far as known, and her experience.”

In 1951, the name was changed again from Occupation Bureau to the Placement Office. With this name change came additional roles for the office. The annual reports from this period show an increased emphasis on tracking undergraduate student employment, as well as providing programming relevant to junior and senior job seeking students. The services offered by the Placement Office expanded to include a Vocational Conference featuring presentations from organization representatives. Despite the increased emphasis on planning, as the Director of the Placement Office Ruth Houghton noted, the office still fell short in bridging the gap between academic advice administered by faculty and the job placement duties fulfilled by the Placement Office. In 1966, the Placement Office underwent another name change, to the Office of Placement and Career Planning, and with a new assistant director, Barbara Lickus, “turned our attention to reaching more undergraduates and providing expanded service to them and alumnae.” The Office of Placement and Career Planning remained as such until 1978, when it became simply the Office of Career Services. The office is now called the Office of Career Development.

Extent

15.17 Linear Feet (9 document boxes, 8 filing cabinet drawers)

Language

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of the records of the Barnard College Office of Career Development.

Collection Arrangement

The collection is arranged in the order in which it was recevied. Newsletters and Annual Reports are arranged chronologically in labeled folders. Student alumna registration cards are arranged in a filing cabinet in alphabetical order.

Physical Location

This collection is located in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library. To use this collection, please contact the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at 212.854.4079 or archives@barnard.edu.