MU | N e w s
Elizabeth Bushnell
Liz Bushnell became associate dean for
planning and assessment last fall. She’s also the
director for Career Services.
Q&A
What does an associate dean for
planning and assessment do?
Primarily for Student Development, I provide
resources and assistance to departments to
review their goals, evaluate their effectiveness
and plan for next steps. I also help coordinate
professional development programs for the
Student Development staff, lead planning
and assessment of First Year Seminar activities
and serve on the assessment committee for
academic programs.
What’s your other role?
I’ve been in Career Services for 10 years and
have been the director for seven. I work with
an awesome staff to provide individual career
counseling to all students on everything from
picking a major to negotiating a salary. I
also teach a career-related class and oversee
events for students’ career development, such
as the Career Expo, job fairs, hall programs,
etiquette dinners, etc.
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What do you like best about working at
Manchester?
By far, working one-on-one with students.
I also love that Manchester gives me
opportunities to work with amazing colleagues
and to be really creative in my work.
What’s your best advice for Manchester
students?
Visit Career Services early and often, of
course! In addition to seeing us, I think the
best thing students can do is to try things out.
Take interesting classes, join clubs, volunteer,
study abroad, get an internship. They’ll have
a better college experience, they will know
better what they want to do for a career, and
they will be better qualified to get it.
Your education:
A bachelor’s degree in political science and
business from McDaniel College and a
master’s degree in public administration from
Bowie State University.
What’s your best memory as a college
student?
Meeting my husband! We were orientation
leaders and met during the training session
in August of my senior year. I always tell
the SOLs (Student Orientation Leaders) at
Manchester that you never know where your
campus job could lead you!
What’s the most valuable thing you
learned in college?
How to think in all ways – critically, creatively,
collaboratively. I was one of those students
with interests in a lot of areas and no clear
plan for her career (ironic, right?). When
I graduated, I didn’t know what job I was
prepared to do. It turned out, I was prepared
for every job I’ve ever had because I knew how
to learn and I knew how to think.
What do you do in your spare time?
I am a Girl Scout leader for my daughter’s
second-grade Brownie troop. I also love to
read, scrapbook, travel and have dance parties
in the living room with my husband of 15
years, Pete, and our kids, Autumn, 7, and
Ethan, 5.