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��ɫӰ�� announced today that it has named May Thao-Schuck the University’s first Teresa Rolling Radzinski Vice President of Career and Professional Development. Thao-Schuck, who previously worked as director of the workforce development employment and training programs division for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, will begin her new role on October 22.

“We are delighted to welcome May to ��ɫӰ�� and into this role,” said Andrew Melendres, senior vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. “Her combination of higher education, professional development, and organizational change experience makes her an excellent match for this position. With her leadership and vision, we will be able to more effectively support career awareness and planning across the student life cycle, from prospective students to alumni.”

The primary objective for this role is to make career development central to the student experience from the moment students step onto campus. Under her leadership, Thao-Schuck will engage not only students, but also parents and families in career awareness and planning, providing resources to substantially expand opportunities for students as they matriculate. She will also partner with faculty on integrating career readiness into the classroom experience and connecting students to internships, service learning, and other career-related opportunities. This new leadership role is funded  by a gift from Teresa Radzinski ‘86. Radzinski, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, has built a distinguished career in the financial services industry and appreciates the importance of students knowing their career options early. 

“I am excited to join ��ɫӰ�� to lead this work and support students, faculty, and staff in expanding career readiness and preparation,” said Thao-Schuck. “I am looking forward to bringing my diverse experience to this role to help increase community and corporate partnerships, expand internship opportunities, and build a first-class career services experience at St. Kate’s.”  

Thao-Schuck brings more than 20 years of professional experience to this position, including change management, workforce development, leadership development, and higher education admissions. Prior to joining ��ɫӰ��, she served as the director of workforce development employment and training programs division for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). In this role, Thao-Schuck collaborated and partnered with stakeholders across Minnesota to develop meaningful and relevant workforce solutions to eliminate the employment, skills, training, and educational disparity gap, especially for people of color, youth, individuals with disabilities, and veterans. She led, designed, implemented, and evaluated large-scale directions, strategies, projects and initiatives with various change and leadership models and framework that established relevant workforce policies, resources, tools to meet job seekers and employers’ needs within the rapidly changing environment.

Thao-Schuck received her Bachelor of Science degree in therapeutic recreation from the University of Minnesota, and a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in leadership from Argosy University. She is currently working on her doctorate in organization development at the University of St. Thomas.