Florida's Workforce Solutions

Inside the Lynn Business Center on Stetson University’s DeLand campus, students in the Roland George Investments Program function much like an investment management firm. Students develop investment goals and objectives for managing a real portfolio of $6 million, using research tools such as Bloomberg.

Established in 1980, RGIP provides real-world experience in one of the nation’s top Student Managed Investment Funds, based on assets under management. Not surprisingly, these students enjoy a 100% success rate after graduation and many of them field multiple job offers.

RGIP is only one of the numerous programs at Stetson that focus on immersive, hands-on experiences to prepare students for today’s rapidly evolving workforce. Across the university, 90% of 2023 graduates gained employment or admission to many top graduate and professional schools.

More such experiences are on the way. Last year, Stetson introduced its Strategic Priorities Framework 2023-2030. Among the chief priorities is experiential, contemporary and integrative learning. To strengthen that priority, the university this fall piloted Hatter Ready — an initiative designed to combine academic excellence in the classroom with hands-on experiences. As a result, students acquire practical and collaboration skills that are highly valued by potential employers.

Starting in the fall of 2024, Stetson faculty began making dozens of new immersive learning experiences available to undergraduates. These include immersive activities in science labs and digital-arts studios; community-based research; academic competition teams; internships and service learning; master classes and workshops; study abroad; teaching and research apprenticeships; national and international tours for choir, orchestra and band; mentored research; model senate; mock trial; and more.

Such hands-on collaborative work is evident throughout Stetson’s newest academic building, the Cici & Hyatt Brown Hall for Health & Innovation. The 40,000-square-foot building opened in 2023 and connects to an existing science center. The result is a 120,000-square-foot complex with resources to prepare students for careers in growing industries like health sciences, public health, environmental science, sustainable food systems, counselor education and others. Along with labs
and other areas for science and synergy, the Center for Optimal Health Across the Lifespan provides opportunities for students to actively engage with the community.

While the experiential approaches to workforce preparedness certainly aren’t new at Stetson, they are being both broadened and refined through Hatter Ready, noted Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Elizabeth Skomp.

“At Stetson we pride ourselves on a student experience that aligns theory and practice, allowing students to apply their classroom learning in ways that yield tremendous benefits, including workforce readiness,” Skomp says.

This real-world, hands-on experiential learning translates into students who graduate prepared to become industry contributors right away, agrees Yiorgos Bakamitsos, dean of the School of Business Administration.

“What differentiates Stetson from other schools is we give an opportunity to our students to not only study a discipline, not only study their craft but also to practice their craft. That makes them career-ready when they leave,” he comments.

Last year, 95% of Stetson students who graduated with a business degree, ranging from majors in finance and accounting to management, achieved full-time employment or entered a graduate program of their choice.

Certifications are another reason for that success, cites Stacy Collins, executive director of Career and Academic Success. Nationally recognized, industry-demanded certifications are offered to students free of charge in the areas of health, business and technology. For example, IT specialist certifications are available in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, computational thinking, cybersecurity and analytics. Many of the certifications are embedded in course offerings.

In late September, with Hurricane Helene sparing the campus of its wrath only hours earlier, a total of 54 employers, representing a wide range of industries, promoted their job and internship opportunities to students at Stetson’s Fall 2024 Internship and Career Expo. Concluded one employer at the recruitment event: “I think for Stetson, my experience with the students has always been very positive. They tend to be professional, and mature. Very polished.”

Published in Florida Trend magazine’s December 2024 issue.