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Professional Development

Strengthen Your Skills, Follow Your Ambitions

At Bridgewater State University, we're always up for a challenge, and we know you are, too. That's why we encourage the continuous development of new knowledge and skills to help you achieve your goals.

We believe each employee makes an important contribution to the BSU community, with talents and expertise that are unique and valuable to the institution. The Talent Development and Engagement Office offers training and development programs, coaching services, wellness initiatives, engagement activities, community service opportunities and recognition events for BSU employees.

Learn more about:

Rachel Goodwin

The thing I like best about BSU is definitely the people I work with every day.”

Rachel Goodwin, ’99
Budget Director in the Budget Office
Dr. Xiangrong Liu receiving an award from President Clark. Drs. Davis-Street and Kim look on.
Dr. Xiangrong Liu was surprised with a 2023 Presidential Award for Distinguished Teaching from President Clark.

 

Career Coaching Services

Working on a Life Design vision board

All employees can meet with a professional career coach to discuss their current professional goals and help them move forward in their job or career.

Topics or issues covered may focus on a number of areas and address some of the following:

  • Identify satisfying career options.
  • Achieving work/life balance.
  • Addressing obstacles to career development.
  • Assessment of skills, values, interests and strengths.
  • Dealing with changes in an employees current job.
  • Assisting with resumes, cover letters, job search strategies, networking and interviewing.
  • Identify training/professional development opportunities to develop new skills and experiences or to help improve performance in a specific area. 

Strengths and Skills Assessment

The Talent Development and Engagement Office offers assessments to help employees identify their skills and strengths and to plan action steps to better utilize their talents in current or future opportunities.

Through Gallup's Clifton StrengthsTM assessment, you will learn about your unique set of 34 natural talents and how to use them to maximize your potential.

SkillScanTM tools provide a fast, interactive and intuitive-based process for identifying transferable skills — knowledge essential to targeting appropriate career options, college majors and training programs. 

Leadership Development

BSU offers selected employees the opportunity to participate in extended leadership development programs including the Wellesley HERS Leadership Institute and the CONNECT: Key Talent and Mid-Level Leadership institutes. Employees can contact the Talent Development and Engagement Office to learn more about these programs as well as other opportunities that maybe available. 

Workshops and Training Programs

Throughout the year employees can participate in a variety of programs to enhance their professional development. These can include sessions on personal development, wellbeing, supervision, management and leadership. Program content is offered in both classroom and online learning formats. Professional development programs include:

  • CONNECT leadership development programs, including mid-level leadership cohorts
  • Emerging Leaders program
  • Emotionally Intelligent Leader workshop series
  • Managing Up workshop
  • CliftonStrengths workshops

 

LinkedIn Learning

Information Technology and HRTM partnered on the adoption of LinkedIn Learning for on-demand video training.

I love the ease of being able to do the courses whenever you have some down time. Their selections just go on and on!


LinkedIn Learning is an award-winning industry leader in online learning, with a digital library of 16,000+ courses covering a wide range of business, software, creative and technical content. You can watch an entire course or individual videos in bite-sized segments. 

Employee Engagement and Wellness

Two BSU employees toss beanbags at a cornhole target on the Boyden Quad

Employee engagement is a workplace approach designed to ensure that employees are committed to their organization's goals, objectives and values, encouraged to contribute to organizational success, and are able at the same time to enhance their own sense of well-being. BSU offers a variety of engagement opportunities to its employees including recognition events, community service and wellness and recreational activities.

Our workplace wellness program focuses on improving the health and wellbeing of all employees. Examples of wellness initiatives have included increasing physical activity, improving eating habits and reducing stress. Wellness programs are good at helping people adopt and maintain healthy behaviors. Healthy behaviors lead to lower health risks, and lower health risks lead to less chronic disease. BSU's wellness programs include:

  • Spring Into Motion, a springtime wellness event
  • Wellness Fair
  • Grow N’ Go
  • Free fitness center opportunities for employees
  • Trail walks
  • Yoga for employees 

Employee Achievement Awards

Derrick Thorpe receiving an Employee Achievement Award from BSU president Fred Clark

The Employee Achievement Awards program celebrates the long term service our employees have made to the university. We celebrate not only their years of service, but also their contributions to the university, the shared successes and the friendships that have been formed over the years. It is important to recognize the recipients accomplishments and the value they have added to our students experience here at BSU.