The West Virginia University College of Business and Economics will officially open its new Center for Career Development on Friday, Sept. 17, the first day of Fall Family Weekend, with a ribbon cutting at 1 p.m.

All are invited to attend, especially B&E students and their families.

Our mission is to open as many career opportunities for our students as possible while preparing them to meet the challenges of the marketplace,said John Andrews, who was chosen director of the Center for Career Development in July after a national search.This means providing an array of services to our students.

The only full-service center in an individual college at WVU , the new facility is on the colleges third floor in Suite 345. It is intended to provide an alumni-based recruiting program, a Web site for posting resumes, professional development opportunities, internship placement and other ways to increase studentsprospects for employment.

The center will work with employers and alumni to increase studentsawareness of career opportunities and the pool of recruiters who hire B&E graduates.

With this new center, we are ready to assist all College of Business and Economic studentsboth undergrads and those in our graduate programswith resume preparation, interviewing skills and career searches,Andrews said.