BOONE—Dr. Susan McCracken has been named director of career development and economic engagement at Appalachian State University effective Aug. 1.

As director, McCracken will lead the Career Development Center’s staff and programs. She also will conduct a campus-wide evaluation and planning process for delivering comprehensive career development services. In addition, McCracken will serve as the university’s point of contact for economic development partnerships between business, industry and community, and faculty, students and staff.

She will report to the Office of Student Development regarding career development activities and the Office of the Chancellor in regards to economic engagement.

Since 2010, McCracken has been director of external affairs and community partnerships in the Office of the Chancellor. Prior to that, she was director of sponsored programs in what is now the Office of Research. For 16 years, she worked with the federally funded GEAR UP and Upward Bound programs, at Appalachian and UNC General Administration.

McCracken has an Ed.D. in educational leadership and a master of arts degree in student development from Appalachian. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in American studies from UNC Chapel Hill.

About the Career Development Center

The Career Development Center provides career, internship and employment advising to undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to college-based career development programming, the center supports the Career Exploration Office that reached over 6,000 students and Student Employment that served over 5,500 students in the 2014-15 academic year. The center and its staff provides individual student advising as well as other programs, such as Coffee and Careers, etiquette programs, resume clinics, LinkedIn workshops, and group presentations to classes, clubs and residence halls. The center hosts two annual career fairs known as CareerFest, which this year included more than 200 employers and with nearly 1,200 students in attendance.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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