RWU Welcomes Higher Education Career Development Leader As New Associate Dean of the Career Center

BRISTOL, RI – Roger Williams University has named career development leader Stephen R. Cantine as associate dean of the Career Center, a role in which he will oversee the University’s career services operation, grow its network of alumni and employer partners, and integrate new career development programming within curricular and co-curricular initiatives.

Cantine joins Roger Williams from Illinois State University, where he led a career center that serves more than 700 employers and has a network of 18,000 students and alumni. As director, Cantine was instrumental in growing annual revenues from the center’s corporate partnership program, establishing an employer/student mentorship initiative and an institution-wide internship program, and working alongside academic and student affairs colleagues to build new relationships among students, faculty, administrators, alumni and employers. 

Cantine began his new role today – September 23. His appointment concludes a search conducted by a committee led by Associate Provost for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning Robert Shea. Cantine says RWU’s distinguished reputation, beautiful campus and dedicated faculty and staff attracted him to the position.

“One of the major deciding factors was the extraordinary amount of warmth and welcome from the students, faculty and staff,” he says. “People I spoke with outside of the campus also spoke very highly of the University. And ultimately, I was excited by the staff in the Career Center – they are extremely dedicated to the success of the students, and I feel like I’m joining a winning team.”

In considering the role, Cantine was also attracted to the opportunity to call upon the University’s alumni network and employer base throughout the Northeast. “To have access to employers and internship opportunities in Boston, Providence and New York City presents a great opportunity for the Career Center,” he says. “Alumni can be a valuable resource for students, and I look forward to building and strengthening our relationships with alumni so that our students can use that network to help accomplish their career goals. We’re going to do some really great things with the Career Center and connect with as many stakeholders as possible.”

Prior to his role at Illinois State, Cantine served as the career center director at two New York institutions – Utica College and Cazenovia College. In 2003, Cantine was selected to participate as a member of the National Career Development Association’s Leadership Academy. He also served formerly as president of Utica Colleges Administrative Staff Advisory Council. Other professional involvements include current membership on the Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers Diversity Committee and as a volunteer in National Association of Colleges and Employers mentor program.

Cantine earned an associate degree in criminal justice from Hudson Valley Community College in New York, a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the State University of New York at Geneseo and a master’s degree in career counseling from California State University Sacramento.

About RWU: Roger Williams University, with its main campus located on the coast of Bristol, R.I., is a forward-thinking private university with 45 undergraduate majors spanning the liberal arts and the professions, where students become community-minded citizens through project-based, experiential learning. With small classes, direct access to faculty and boundless opportunity for real-world projects, RWU students develop the ability to think critically while simultaneously building the practical skills that today’s employers demand. In the three years since launching its signature Affordable Excellence initiative, the University has established itself as a leader in American higher education by confronting the most pressing issues facing students and families – increasing costs that limit access to college, rising debt and the job readiness of graduates. In addition to its 4,000 undergraduates, RWU is home to more than a dozen graduate programs, a thriving School of Continuing Studies based in Providence as well as Rhode Island’s only law school. 

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