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Davis and Business Career Center Strike Impactful Partnership

Career Development Fostered and Celebrated at Employer Partners Day
Davis and Business Career Center Strike Impactful Partnership
Clyde Davis works to provide students ample opportunities to find career success.
Clyde Davis attended the Nebraska College of Business in a time with fewer resources for connecting students to employers. He looks to make sure students do not face the same challenges he did.

“If you wanted to find a job, you had to go to an employer. And of course, in that era, you looked in professional journals or in the newspaper for ads,” explained Davis. “My career was not necessarily on a fast track environment. So for me it is about trying to enhance the opportunities for all students and expand their thinking about what they could do with their education and start growing right away.”

As a lecturer in supply chain management and analytics at Nebraska, Davis knew about the resources the college offered. He sought to connect both employers and students to the assets he thought would prove beneficial.

“I looked at myself and thought about what could have been better, and I was seeing the great programs available in the Business Career Center here in the college. I thought, ‘Okay, let's try to get everybody connected through the career office with firms as well as get firms I was familiar with connected to the career office that weren't connected already,’” he said.

Davis earned the Sue Vagts Faculty/Staff Partner of the Year Award.
Davis earned the Sue Vagts Faculty/Staff Partner of the Year Award.
Davis became a frequent visitor to the Business Career Center, making sure he stayed up to date on the latest industry information. He regularly volunteered to help at career fairs and often interacted with the Employer in Residence, a program the center offers to bring a daily rotation of employers into the college.

As a faculty advisor for a study abroad program in Germany, Davis saw a key opportunity to connect students with employers through meaningful internships, giving them a more broad sense of careers around the world. He knew the center could help him make this idea a reality.

“As he was putting together some internships for students studying abroad in Germany, he immediately involved the Business Career Center right from the beginning to go, ‘Okay, we want to do this in a way that's safe for our students and ensure they have a really quality experience,’” said Dr. Chris Timm, associate director of employer experience and outreach. “He wanted to develop internships with major German employers and consistently looked for feedback to make certain these would be quality experiences and managed in ways that support both student and employer needs.”

Timm noted Davis’ efforts to go beyond his responsibilities as a professor. His constant collaboration with the Business Career Center to help bridge a relationship between students and employers earned him the Sue Vagts Faculty/Staff Partner of the Year Award at Employer Partners Day, May 9.

“As a host at career fairs, Clyde volunteered to escort employers to their table. He turned that into an opportunity and made many valuable contacts. He's not only doing the things that might be more ‘glamorous’ in a sense, he's right there in the trenches,” said Timm. “Not everybody is going to be a supply chain management major and not every employer is going to be hiring the students he's teaching. Nevertheless, Clyde is willing to invest the time to create a positive experience for all of our students and employers.”

Without a moment wasted, Davis seized every conversation he had at Employer Partners Day. He looks forward to continue working with students and employers to create impactful connections.

Kara Mosley, ’14, and Brian Harshman,’15, accepted the Employer of the Year Award on behalf of Koch Industries.
Kara Mosley, ’14, and Brian Harshman,’15, accepted the Employer of the Year Award on behalf of Koch Industries.
“There are some employer contacts I met today who I want to get into class to talk about their activities and needs. I want to get the students to start relating to the employers and see that by coming to our college, we are going to help them develop a background that's going to serve them for the rest of their lives,” he said.

Alongside Davis, Koch Industries took home the Employer of the Year Award at the event, where business partners gathered at Howard L. Hawks Hall to celebrate the partnerships between the Business Career Center and employers across the nation. The day brings together business partners and Nebraska Business faculty and staff to make connections and learn more about the opportunities to collaborate with the Business Career Center.

To learn more about the Business Career Center and their programs, visit: https://business.unl.edu/careers
Published: May 16, 2019