Schedule

Arrive by 9:50am for the walking tour. This walking tour of the Morehouse College Campus will include a time with representatives of the Morehouse College Career Center Team.

Facilitator:
Dr. Pricilla Hubbard, Assistant Director of Career Services and Career Data Management , Morehouse College Career Center

Arrive by 10:50am for the walking tour. This walking tour of the Morehouse School of Medicine (MCM) Campus will include a time with representatives of the MCM Career Center Team.

Facilitator:
Dr. David Jones, Director, MSM Career Service & Industry Partnerships

Check in for the Summit.

Join us as we kick off the 2026 NACE HBCU Summit.

Speakers:
Shawn VanDerziel, CEO, NACE
Seldric Blocker, Corporate Vice President and Head of Programmatic Recruitment, New York Life; Board Chair, NACE
Brandon Ramey, Northwestern Mutual

General Session – Peer-to-Peer Workshop

At HBCUs, cultivating student success begins long before graduation. It starts from day one.

This session highlights Preparing the Hive: Career Readiness for First-Year Hornets, Delaware State University’s innovative initiative designed to build career confidence, strengthen professional competencies, and prepare students for lifelong success.

Participants will explore how intentional, culturally responsive programming can equip first-year students with foundational skills such as communication, teamwork, and professionalism while honoring the legacy and community-centered values of HBCUs.

Through an engaging discussion, attendees will gain practical tools to design first-year career readiness initiatives that empower students to navigate their academic journey with purpose, confidence, and clarity, transforming the Yard into the launchpad for their professional futures.

Participants will learn:

• how to design a first-year career readiness framework grounded in NACE competencies and HBCU cultural values;
• how to develop scalable programming that includes large-group events, small-group workshops, and one-on-one coaching;
• how to integrate intentional first-year engagement strategies that foster confidence, communication, and professionalism;
• how to collaborate across departments to ensure early career exposure is embedded throughout the first-year experience; and
• assess the impact of first-year initiatives using participation data and student feedback to refine outcomes and programming.

Facilitator:
Ms. Christian Mills, Delaware State University

At Spelman College’s Office of Career Planning & Development, we believe partnership is more than funding it is relationship, trust, and shared commitment to student success.

This session highlights our evolving collaboration with Verizon, beginning with generous support for two of our signature programs, Career Launch and FRESH, and growing into a dynamic partnership woven into the fabric of our career preparation pipeline. Participants will learn how intentional engagement and representation transformed a traditional sponsorship into a powerful model of excellence, hands on involvement, and best practice. Together, Spelman and Verizon created a value-centered relationship that honors the brilliance of HBCU talent while giving employers meaningful access to emerging leaders.

Additionally, this workshop will demonstrate how reciprocal exchange of talent, consistent visibility, and authentic investment produce deeper impact not just for students, but for the institutions and companies committed to developing them.

Attendees will uncover:

• Best practices for employer and career services to elevate from sponsorship to partnership to relationship;
• How to leverage partnerships into greater engagement and talent acquisition; and
• Ways to become equipped with a clear framework for developing authentic, sustainable HBCU–industry partnerships.

Facilitator:
Charla Armstead, Spelman College

The Atlanta University Center Data Science Initiative (AUC DSI) is leveraging industry partnerships to build an HBCU-centered talent pipeline in data science and analytics that reaches students nationwide.

With support from Mastercard and other partners, the AUC DSI connects students from HBCUs across the country to real-world projects, mentoring, and hiring pathways in data-intensive roles. Together, we co-design experiences including employer-led skill-building workshops and Career Hub opportunities that demystify industry expectations and translate classroom learning into practice. Faculty collaborate with industry partners to embed current tools, case studies, and datasets into their teaching, while the Career Hub ecosystem prepares students for internships and early-career roles.

This session tells the story of how an HBCU consortium and a global company are co-creating a scalable Industry Engagement model that centers equity, relevance, and student success in the data-driven economy.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to: 

1. Describe the core components of AUC DSI’s Industry Engagement and Career Hub model with Mastercard and other employers.  
2. Identify practical strategies to connect HBCU students to industry-informed learning, mentoring, and career pathways in data science and analytics.  
3. Outline steps to replicate or adapt this model with their own institutional and industry partners.

Facilitators:
Dr. Emmanuel Little, AU Center Data Science Initiative
Courtney Quarterman, AU Center Data Science Initiative

The partnership between Claflin University and Unum (Colonial Life) exemplifies how collaboration between higher education and industry creates sustainable pipelines for high-performing talent.

Together, we will align efforts through career readiness workshops, internship and mentorship programs, and on-campus engagement such as career fairs, leadership panels, and mentoring efforts.   Unum professionals provide students with real-world insights, resume and interview coaching, and hands-on experiences that prepare them for success in business, technology, and communications. Scholarship support and targeted recruitment further reinforce both partners’ commitment to student success.  

This partnership demonstrates measurable results—Claflin students gain access to meaningful career opportunities while Unum strengthens its workforce with skilled, diverse leaders—showcasing the transformative power of strategic HBCU–industry collaboration. 

Participants will explore:

• The art of connecting;
• The components of a well developed pipeline; and
• Aspects of measurable success 

Facilitator:
Carolyn Snell, Claflin University
La Tonya Lyons, Unum-Colonial Life

Meet other attendees at our evening reception.

Kick off the day at this insightful session.

Facilitator:
Dr. David Jones, Morehouse School of Medicine

HBCU students bring extraordinary talent into a job market shaped by job search algorithms and overwhelming choices. A strong first job remains one of the surest paths to long-term economic mobility, yet many students default to “safer” roles that limit growth and lead to underemployment.

This session shares a practical model for developing and recruiting HBCU talent that combines: a self-discovery framework, AI-enabled career navigation tools, and employer opportunity data. Basta, North Carolina A&T State University, and Morris College will show how they use student insights and program data to inform curriculum, target coaching and technical interview prep, and match students with precision to great-fit employers that invest in early-career talent.

Participants will leave with concrete examples they can adapt to help HBCU students see more options, navigate job search complexity with confidence, and connect to employers that prioritize early-career growth. 

Facilitators:
Dr Amber Field, Basta
Yanique Francis, Basta
Antown Foreman, North Carolina A&T State University
Subria Smalls, Morris College

Every young person dreams of achieving financial freedom and the American Dream. Yet today, Americans have only a 50/50 chance of being better off than their parents. For promising college students, the path from college to career has become increasingly complex. Institutions that integrate career preparation into student success initiatives see higher retention, engagement, and post-graduate outcomes.

This session explores how Spelman College and Braven partner to support institutional goals by strengthening student confidence, self-efficacy, and career readiness. Through a panel discussion, including a student voice, attendees will learn how career-readiness partnerships improve retention, enhance student success, and create pathways to economic mobility.

Facilitator:
Che Watkins, Braven

Small and rural HBCUs often face significant barriers in attracting employers, maintaining consistent recruiting pipelines, and ensuring students have equitable access to career opportunities.

Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), located in a geographically isolated region of northeastern North Carolina, has historically struggled with limited local industries, transportation barriers, and the challenge of competing with larger institutions for employer attention. These realities demand innovative solutions tailored to the rural HBCU environment.

This session will explore how ECSU reimagined its approach to supporting student career development and employer engagement through a multi-layered, data-informed strategy aligned with the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).  

This session will showcase ECSU’s innovative strategies, highlight measurable outcomes, and offer replicable tools for other institutions seeking to elevate career readiness and strengthen employer partnerships. 

1. Identify common challenges rural and small HBCUs face in employer engagement and recruiting.  
2. Implement data-driven and technology-enhanced strategies to expand employer pipelines.  
3. Integrate career readiness curriculum across academic departments to strengthen student outcomes. 

Facilitator:
Amber Lennon, Elizabeth City State University
Tameka Gibbs, Eliabeth City State University

In 2020, HCA Healthcare committed $10M for the establishment of strategic partnerships with higher education institutions. During this presentation, we will share the model developed to identify institutions as potential partners and the KPIs used to ascertain the impact. Attendees will hear about the strategies that have been successful to monitor and nurture those partnerships.

The presentation will speak about the benefits of this partnership and what makes it different from its other corporate-university relationships. Come and learn what’s behind the hashtag #alteredtrajectory. 

Attendees will:

• Outline the process for identifying and establishing strategic partnerships with higher education institutions;
• Identify engagement strategies that were developed for monitoring and nurturing these strategic partnerships to recognize a return on the investment and the KPI's used to measure the impact of these partnerships on the institutions and the company; and
• Articulate the strategies universities employ to deliver on what's required as outlined in the partnership agreement.

Facilitator:
Sharon Dixon Gentry, HCA Healthcare

Hear from current students about their early career experiences.

Speakers:
Shawn VanDerziel, CEO, NACE
Seldric Blocker, Corporate Vice President and Head of Programmatic Recruitment, New York Life; Board Chair, NACE
Gabrielle Archie, Spelman College Student
Tena Howard, Claflin University Student
McKensi Rice, Norfolk State University Student

Arrive by 1:35 pm for the walking tour. This walking tour of the Spelman College Campus will include a time with representatives of the Spelman College Office of Career Planning and Development.

Facilitator:
Harold Bell, Director, Career Planning and Development, Spelman College