U of A Celebrates First Career Everywhere Catalyst Program Graduates

Offices of Career Connections, Student Success and Faculty Affairs launched the Career Everywhere Catalyst Program in September 2025 as a component of the U of A's 150 Forward strategic plan to improve student success. Congratulations to the nine faculty and staff who completed the program in fall 2025: 

• Alexandra Vasile, College of Education & Health Professions
• Allison McBride, Office of Financial Aid 
• Angela Williams, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 
• Christine Rickabaugh, University Libraries 
• Kathleen Paul, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
• Latisha Puckett, College of Engineering 
• Lynn Meade, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
• Marco Dehnert, Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 
• Sarah Hixson, Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Career readiness can happen anywhere students learn and engage — on or off campus and through every interaction. Career Connections equips faculty and staff with the tools to support students' career development in the classroom, advising, scholarship programs and co-curricular spaces. By joining the Career Catalyst program, faculty and staff can help strengthen student confidence, boost career outcomes and contribute to a stronger return on investment for every learner. Here's what a few Catalyst graduates said about the program: 

Alexandra Vasile shared, "[The Catalyst program] gives instructors practical, ready-to-use strategies that actually resonate with students. The resources make it easy to connect coursework to real-world skills, and the structure helps you weave career readiness into any class without adding a significant amount of additional work outside of class." 

"Access to shared language and knowledge of campus supports allows me to connect these efforts and highlight relevant resources for the faculty I work with," says librarian Christine Rickabaugh. "Faculty are often motivated and student-focused, but with so much happening across campus, it's helpful to be able to point them toward tools that can enhance their teaching and support student success." 

U of A advisers are also invited to complete the Catalyst program, as they are often in unique positions to help students think about their future while helping them navigate college resources and processes. Financial aid adviser Allison McBride says, "[The program] is a highly informative training that does not take an overly long amount of time to complete. The information delivery is very efficient, and I appreciate how each [ACUE] module ended with a downloadable PDF with action steps. Overall, this was an excellent and engaging training!" 

About the Career Everywhere Catalyst program: This program is open to any student-facing faculty, instructor and staff member who wants to connect student learning with individualized student career goals and improve post-graduation career outcomes by integrating career readiness into college experiences.  

Participants complete two to five ACUE (Association of College and University Educators) quick study courses alongside the U of A Faculty & Staff Career Toolkit to learn how to motivate learners toward a successful future. Program participants learn to connect academic content and activities to students' career readiness by having future-focused career conversations with students, embedding common workforce language into assignment descriptions and sharing existing career development resources with students.  

Participants can expect to spend just five to 10 hours completing this program and can enroll at any time by completing the Catalyst program enrollment form. Completers receive a certificate of completion and are recognized at the annual Wally Cordes Teaching Faculty Support Center fall awards ceremony, during Staff Appreciation Week and on career.uark.edu.