Robert Pearl Starks

Robert Pearl Starks

Location: phoenix, arizona

About me

As Vice President of Product Development, I lead cross-functional teams of designers, developers, QA testers and product stakeholders to develop, launch, and improve products customers need and love. 

Previously, I've worked in a variety of leadership roles in education / learning & professional development. Through my experience, I've become accustomed to working across departmental silos and with various stakeholders (executives, end-users, faculty, staff, students / learners, alumni, parents, regulatory agencies, partners and employers) to facilitate collaboration and advance common goals. In my previous roles, I've advocated for student needs and driven organizational change that helped educators do their best work, students thrive in their careers, and employers connect with quality talent.

Despite different contexts, a common theme in my career journey has been to do work that contributes to a mission which improves people's lives. It's also always been important for me to work with an organization whose values align with my own. I'm a listener, empathizer, customer advocate, servant leader, and lifelong learner. I'm never satisfied with status quo, I constantly strive for "better," and I'm driven by genuine curiosity to solve complex problems.

“Work to become; not to acquire.” -Elbert Hubbard

Interests

social media, career development, training, higher education, web 2.0/3.0, career services, leadership, marketing

Skills

social media, marketing, training, consulting, management, strategic planning

Activity

Andrea, I noticed you stated you do a Facebook page for your business. I'm wondering if there is a dedicated page for Career Services. In what ways do you believe the goals would be different for a general business page vs. a Career Services page? Robert Starks Jr.

This is an older podcast series that is still highly relevant.  Social media is a major part of the conversation as a tool to use in a modern job search strategy for today's jobseekers.  How is your career services office using social media and teaching students to effectively use social media?

New Ideas for the Job Hunt Part 1

 New Ideas for the Job Hunt Part 2

As the workplace becomes increasingly fractured, short-term jobs have become a mainstay, meaning that no-benefit, no-strings attached unemployment is no longer the domain of starving artists.  This podcast discusses the "Gig" economy.

43 Million workers are independent and the independent workforce is expanding.  Tracking this type of employment is an enormous challenge yet this type of work is growing for everyone - not just starving artists.  

Listen now!

Facing rising costs and a changing economic environment, colleges may be on the verge of a revolution.  A panel of experts discuss the following questions: 

    • Should the focus of education be changing?  
    • Does career oriented training now outweigh a liberal arts education?
    • How do we best position young Americans for the challenges of the 21st Century?

This Innovation Hub podcast discusses ethics in the workplace.  How do individuals consciously or unconcisously slip from ethical to unethical?  3 experts on ethics and morality in business discuss this question and the role of ethics in business.

This is a great example of self-directed learning in practice at a high school in Massachusetts.  . A group of students gets to create their own “school-within-a-school” and they learn only what they want to learn. Does it work? 

Hello Heather,

The best way to maximize a social learning community is to engage with the community, invite colleagues to contribute and enhance the collective knowledge of the community, and to ask questions and interact to share resources, ideas, best practices, etc.  You will also find educational blogs, bookmarks to reports, research, helpful websites, etc. if you wish to also simply consume information and find helpful resources.  Nothing beats dialogue though so I encourage you to engage with your community. 

Take care!

Hello Heather,

Different groups are more active.  For instance, Admissions Performance group tends to have more discussions.  There are many course facilitators who are responsive to questions, discussions, and inquiries for advice.  If you are in Admissions, you may want to add Dr. Jean Norris as a contact.  I also encourage that you invite your colleagues to participate in social learning - the more we have in our community, the more value we can provide eachother with our combined knowledge.  I look forward to interacting with you. 

Take care!

 

APSCU President & CEO, Steve Gunderson, discusses the President's College Scorecard initiative and the larger conversation in Higher Education about the Return on Investment from a college degree.   

 

 

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