Accomplished career services leader to helm Student Professional Development Center | Today at Elon
Heather Packo brings a history of building and managing career programs at top national universities to her role as Elon University’s next associate vice president for the Student Professional Development Center.
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The head of the Career Management Center at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business has been named Elon University’s next associate vice president for the Student Professional Development Center.
Heather Packo begins her new role on June 23, 2025, and brings to Elon University a record of building and managing successful career programs over the past dozen years at DePaul, the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.
At Elon, Packo will lead a team of 22 full-time career professionals who comprise one of the nation’s best comprehensive career services programs, with a top-20 ranking by The Princeton Review and a #20 ranking for internships by U.S. News & World Report.
She will oversee the continued design and implementation of a comprehensive career services strategy through the Student Professional Development Center that enhances student employability, fosters employer relationships, and integrates career readiness into the university experience.
“Heather Packo is a highly accomplished administrator whose commitment to excellence speaks for itself,” said Jim Piatt, Elon University’s senior vice president for advancement and external affairs. “Her vision for connecting impressive students with employers hungry for talent made it clear she was the perfect fit for leading our nationally recognized career programs.”
Elon University’s Student Professional Development Center, with its main offices for students and alumni on the first floor of the Moseley Center, offers three primary services:
- Career Advising: Staff assist students and alumni in understanding career-related interests, individual preferences, strengths and values, and students are coached on conducting effective internship, job or graduate program searches.
- Corporate & Employer Relations: The center targets new organizations and maintains relationships with long-time partners focused on metro areas where Elon students and alumni aspire to live and work.
- On-Campus Student Employment: The center coordinates on-campus recruitment, including job postings and training for supervisors, and provides resume reviews to better prepare students for 1,500-plus available positions.
Packo praises the university for being a national leader in its approach to bridging the gap between college and career. She described her “career everywhere” approach – embedding career readiness into the student experience by fostering strong alliances and ecosystems of support across campus – as one that positively supports career success.
“Elon University’s commitment to cultivating a career ecosystem in support of both student and alumni career and professional development is both forward-thinking and impressive,” she said. “Throughout the recruitment process, this commitment was clearly articulated. In speaking with key stakeholders – from the SPDC team, campus partners, senior staff and academic deans, and the president – it was clear that everyone is ready to move the needle from good to great and work together to ensure Elon students are career ready at graduation.”
Elon University’s commitment to cultivating a career ecosystem in support of both student and alumni career and professional development is both forward-thinking and impressive.
– Heather Packo, Elon University’s next Associate Vice President for the Student Professional Development Center
Packo graduated from Indiana University Bloomington with a degree in communication & culture before starting a marketing and sales career with Sony Music Entertainment/Sony BMG Music Entertainment. In 2007, she returned to graduate school for a Master of Arts in Higher Education & Student Affairs from The Ohio State University before moving into career services for her undergraduate alma mater, and then a series of universities in Chicago.
At DePaul, Packo has led the strategic reorganization and transformation of the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business’s Career Management Center, redefining staffing structures and services to enhance career success for students and alumni and engagement opportunities for employer and alumni partners.
She has managed staff in the assessment, development, and execution of career coaching & education, employer relations, alumni engagement, and operations & communications efforts for 2,500+ students across full and part-time MBA programs and 12 specialized master’s programs.
Packo said she’s eager and ready to join the Elon University administration. She begins remote work on June 23 and in-person leadership on July 7.
“I’m very excited to join the community,” she said. “The university is at a pivotal moment in the evolution of how it provides career services, and I’m excited to work alongside the SPDC team and campus partners to strengthen and build Elon’s career ecosystem by creating meaningful career opportunities for students while promoting the university’s brand and impact.”
Search Committee for the Associate Vice President of Student Professional Development
- CJ Fleming (Co-Chair) – Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Director of Undergraduate Research
- John Barnhill, (Co-Chair) – Associate Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs
- Lauren Bosselait – Senior Associate Director of Corporate and Employer Relations, Love School of Business
- Cayce Crenshaw – Director for Academic Support Services and Associate Athletic Director
- Paula DiBiasio – Associate Professor of Physical Therapy Education
- Bob Frigo – Assistant Dean of Campus Life and Director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life
- Kenn Gaither – Dean, School of Communications, and Professor of Strategic Communications
- Raj Gupta – Professor of Finance, Love School of Business
- Kendra Haskins – Senior Director of Alumni Engagement
- Torii Masinsin – Director of Admissions for Campus Visits
- Randy Williams – Vice President for Inclusive Excellence and Associate Professor of Education
About Elon University
Elon University is a nationally recognized leader in engaged, experiential learning that prepares graduates to be creative, resilient, ambitious and ethical citizens of our global culture.
At Elon, more than 7,000 students learn through hands-on experiences and close working relationships with faculty and staff whose priorities are teaching and mentoring. The curriculum is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences with emphasis on global experiences and career development. More than 70 undergraduate majors are complemented by professional and graduate programs in law, business, education and health care. Elon is ranked No. 1 for excellence in undergraduate teaching by U.S. News & World Report.
Elon’s academic divisions include Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences; the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business; the School of Communications; the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education; the School of Health Sciences; and the School of Law, with programs in Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina.
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