September 29, 2004

Web Site Launched To Help Fill More Than 50,000
Higher Education Jobs In The Next Five Years

By Jan Jennings

Colleges and universities in Southern California expect to hire more than 50,000 new employees in the next five years and a new Web site officially launched Sept. 29 at UCLA will make it easier for job seekers to find those jobs.

The Southern California Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC), an association of 22 public and private colleges and universities in Southern California, is sponsoring the first higher education employment Web site in the region at www.socalherc.org.

The site gives job seekers access to centralized information about thousands of faculty and staff positions at HERC colleges and universities. Previously, job seekers had to visit the Web sites of each college and university to search for employment opportunities. About 1,500 jobs are listed on the site.

“Higher education is a significant economic force in Southern California,” said UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale. “HERC member campuses have a combined overall budget estimated at over $10.6 billion, and they employ close to 80,000 faculty, staff, administrative and executive employees.”

“In the next five years, HERC member campuses expect to hire more than 50,000 employees to continue to fulfill our shared mission of educating young people, advancing society through scientific and technological innovation, and developing responses to social problems in a rapidly changing world,” Carnesale added. “In the next 10 years, Southern California HERC campuses will hire over 100,000 new employees.”

HERC members include University of California and California Community College campuses, and private colleges and universities. Participating campuses are in areas south of Monterey County, from Santa Barbara in the north to San Diego in the south, and as far east as Palm Desert.

“Higher education represents a microcosm of the overall job market,” said Pepperdine University Assistant Provost Steve Hewgley. “Colleges and universities employ people in a wide range of fields and with all levels of education. In addition to faculty and research positions, there are also positions for people in many other occupations including lawyers, mechanics, engineers, Web developers, accountants, psychologists, animal care specialists, administrative assistants and dozens of others.”

Job seekers have free access to the HERC Web site and its features. These include the “myJobs” feature, which automatically sends e-mail to potential applicants when jobs that match their profiles are posted.

Although the HERC employment Web site is available to everyone, HERC specializes in helping spouses and partners of faculty and staff find jobs in Southern California, where dual incomes are often a necessity in order to afford the high cost of living.

The Southern California HERC, founded by the University of California, San Diego, in 2003, is modeled after the Northern California HERC, founded by UC Santa Cruz. Both organizations were created to help member institutions recruit and retain a qualified and diverse work force. HERC members, composed of academic and staff human resources leaders, meet quarterly to share ideas about technology, networking and outreach programs as they relate to the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff.

Speakers at the official launching at UCLA included UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale, UCSD Senior Vice Chancellor David Miller, Pepperdine University Assistant Provost Steve Hewgley, and Santa Barbara City College Vice President of Human Resources Susan Ehrlich.

HERC member campuses are: California Institute of Technology; The Claremont Colleges; College of the Desert; Loyola Marymount University; MiraCosta Community College; Mount St. Mary’s College; Occidental College; Palomar Community College; Pasadena City College; Pepperdine University; Rancho Santiago Community College District; San Diego Community College District; Santa Barbara City College; University of California, Irvine; UCLA; UC Riverside; UC San Diego; UC Santa Barbara; University of Redlands; University of San Diego; University of Southern California; Westmont College; and Woodbury University.

Media contact: Jan Jennings (858) 822-1684