Preparing students in the D'Amore-McKim School of Business to have the skills necessary to be successful in today's global and digital economy is a critical component of the overall academic experience at Northeastern. One of the ways this is done is through a strong co-op program and resulting employer partner relationships. To that end, D'Amore-McKim recently created new structures that have realigned the Undergraduate Education Team, providing a platform to best serve both students and employers.
“The world of work is changing rapidly, and our students and employer partners expect D'Amore-McKim to keep pace,” says Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs Jeffery A. Born. “Now more than ever, we need to understand the needs of our partners, while also ensuring we provide our students with experiences that prepare them for the ever-changing global workplace. Our new structure is designed to achieve that end.”
Two people, along with Born, will lead this future-forward effort with student co-op placements and employer partners. Esther Chewning has assumed the role of Assistant Dean of Cooperative Education, and Mary Kane has taken on the new role of Assistant Dean for Employer and External Engagement.
Chewning, who has been a part of D'Amore-McKim's Cooperative Education program for nearly 10 years, most recently partnered with venture accelerators, VC firms, and start-ups and played a significant role in the development of the university's entrepreneurial ecosystem. She has been a key member of a number of university task forces and committees, and both internal and external stakeholders view her as a respected change agent. She now leads the team that works directly with students and employers to advise and coach them into well-aligned and mutually beneficial co-op positions.
“D'Amore-McKim has a well-established and solid foundation of employer partnerships that value the impact our students make at their organizations while on co-op,” says Chewning. “We are excited to build upon that foundation to increase experiential learning opportunities for our students—the future leaders who will influence business in domains not yet discovered.”
As the previous Assistant Dean of the D'Amore-McKim Cooperative Education program, Kane was instrumental in leading her team in building a deep portfolio of employer relationships and programs. In her new role, she will leverage the success of her accomplishments and work holistically with various internal and external constituents. She will also support existing employer relationships and develop new partnerships that support the strategic goals of D'Amore-McKIm, particularly in the areas of humanics and digital convergence. In addition, she will identify ways to further engage and support our alumni community and recommend programming to strengthen the experience of our undergraduates with the goal of increasing their transition to successful and connected alumni.
“I look forward to helping the D'Amore-McKim School of Business build upon our tremendous partnerships with our business and alumni networks,” says Kane. “I also want to help find new ways they can share their extraordinary passion, expertise, and connections to help advance the college's efforts in preparing students for the ever-changing global and digital economy.”