Gayle Boyer Named Career Center Interim Director

Gayle Boyer has been appointed interim director of the Oberlin College Career Center. As interim director, Boyer will lead the center's daily operations, sustain programming and outreach initiatives—which aim to expand opportunities for all Oberlin students as they explore their potential career paths—and help coordinate the Oberlin Business Scholars and Alumni-Student Mentoring programs. She will also serve as a pre-law advisor.

Boyer joined the Career Center staff in 2011 as a department technician and was appointed to operations manager in 2012. Her previous employment includes extensive work in web design and technical writing, primarily in the medical field. She earned a BA in English from Carleton College and a PhD in English and American literature from Brown University.

Dean of Studies Joyce Babyak says Boyer’s work experience makes her an ideal candidate for the interim director position. “There are three excellent professionals in the office, including Gayle. Her role as operations manager makes her a great fit for the interim position because she has been dealing with much of the same work for three years,” Babyak says.

Boyer will report jointly to Babyak and Bill Barlow, vice president for development and alumni affairs. The pair say they are “delighted Gayle has agreed to assume this leadership role while a search is under way for a new director.”

“It’s critical that the search committee be able to take the time to conduct their search for a new director thoroughly and well,” Boyer says. “In the mean time, I’ll be serving as point person for external constituencies and working along with my colleagues as we continue to support the learning and development of all Oberlin students. We have an incredibly talented, experienced, and diverse team in place, as well as a lot of great resources and programs, so I’m looking forward to an exciting semester and a smooth transition when a new director does come on board.”

Boyer, who began her work as interim director September 1, urges all students regardless of class year to visit the Career Center, as staff assists with much more than students often realize. “There are two comments we hear over and over from students who have visited the Career Center: ‘Wow, I had no idea the Career Center could help me with that,” and, ‘I was scared to come in because I didn’t know what I want to do after Oberlin, and now I wish I had come in sooner!’ I encourage all students to stop by and chat with our peer advisors during drop-in hours—you’ll find them in Azariah’s Cafe, the conservatory, and Afrikan Heritage House, as well as our office in Stevenson—to learn more about all the different ways we can help.”

For more information, visit the Career Center website.