Kim Crabbe named director of career development

Kim Crabbe has joined Skidmore College as director of career development.

Crabbe comes to Skidmore from Drew University in Madison, N.J., where she served as director of career development since 2008. She previously was employed by the College of Staten Island, where she was named a career counselor in 1992 and assistant director of career development in 2006.

At Drew, Crabbe established a highly successful outreach effort that engaged students from their first weeks as freshmen and continued sequentially by class year through graduation. Working with Roadtrip Nation, a documentary series aired on PBS that follows young people as they drive around the country interviewing “inspiring people who have stayed true to themselves,” she arranged for a team of first-year Drew students to go out on a Roadtrip Nation-sponsored trip, videotaping their journey.  For the next five years, the career center held an annual competition to inspire and enlighten Drew freshmen to get on the road and find their passion.

She also established an alumni mentoring program for sophomores and a year-long “Seniors Only Series” of workshops, seminars, information sessions, alumni panels, networking events, and career fairs.

“Kim’s long experience in career development, her understanding and appreciation of the unique advantages of a liberal arts education, her extensive network of employer contacts, and her outstanding record of innovation makes her an ideal match for this position,” said Rochelle Calhoun, dean of students and vice president for student affairs. “We’re delighted to welcome her to Skidmore.”

In her new role, Crabbe assumes responsibility for a six-member team focused on developing a distinctive career development program that engages students in their first year through the last. Partnering with alumni and employers, the Career Development Office develops internship and job opportunities and networking and placement programs.

In recent years, the office has established highly successful annual networking events in New York and Boston. On campus, the office enlists as many as 70 parents and alumni in Career Jam, a networking event that attracted more than 200 students last October.

A 1998 graduate of the College of Staten Island, Crabbe earned her master’s in education and school counseling from St. John’s University in 1991.

Crabbe and her husband, Rich, an instructor at the City University of New York, have three daughters, whom she describes as “all enthusiasts of the liberal arts.”