Laura Hartpence named director of the Carleton Career Center

Laura Hartpence, senior associate director of operations and assessment for career services at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, has been selected as the next director of the Carleton Career Center. She will start on Aug. 1, 2024. 

“Laura is an innovative leader with a proven track record of strong results in student career success,” Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Carolyn H. Livingston said. “In identifying Laura as our next director, we welcome her energetic commitment to empowering students and recent graduates to integrate and apply their liberal arts education to succeed in their career paths and live a meaningful life after Carleton.”

At Colgate since 2015, Hartpence was instrumental in the successful design and implementation of the university’s Four-Year Career Development Plan, a comprehensive initiative that supports students from early career exploration through career launch. The plan scaffolds learning over time so that students arrive at graduation with the perspective, skill, and confidence to drive their own career path. She also partnered with various teams to engage more than 1,000 alumni volunteers annually to support student career development. The result has been a record level of student engagement with more than 80% of Colgate’s student body. 

“Laura impressed us with both her keen understanding of the need for a clear, compelling strategy and her history of successfully implementing this sort of strategy,” said David Diamond ’80, a member of the college’s Board of Trustees and member of the search committee. “I look forward to working with Laura as she transitions to Carleton.”

“It was apparent throughout the interview process that Carleton is a special place, uniquely committed to supporting students in their career exploration and development,” Hartpence said. “I am eager to harness the energy of the college community, alumni, parents, and families as we design the next iteration of career preparation at Carleton. I am immensely grateful to Dean Livingston and the members of the search committee for trusting me to lead the team in this important work.”

In addition to her work at Colgate, Hartpence serves as Benchmarking Committee chair of the Liberal Arts Career NetWORK and recently participated in the American Association of Colleges & Universities Curriculum to Career Institute. Her knowledge of emerging practices in career development, and track record of engaging with various constituents in growing the opportunities available to students and supporting institutional and strategic priorities, made her a top choice for the search committee. 

“Laura has the perfect combination of skills along with the personal and professional experiences to be able to hit the ground running,” Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michelle Mattson said. “I really appreciated how she has worked to strengthen faculty investment in highlighting the professional skills that a liberal arts education entails.”  

Hartpence holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Denison University in Ohio and a master’s in parks and resource management from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. She previously served as director of career development at Defiance College, and has also served as an adjunct instructor in natural sciences and an assistant track and field and cross country coach. 

The search committee was co-chaired by Livingston and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies Carol Donelan, who were joined by Mattson and Diamond, and Associate Vice President for Development Dan Rustad, Vice President and Chief of Staff Elise Eslinger ’92, Senior Director for Student Life Judith Pannell, trustee Emily Barr ’80, Carleton Careers Alumni Board Chair Peter Fritz ’08, and students Amira Aladetan ’24 and Eric Yuan ’25.