This November, the Human Resource Development (HRD) program in Cullen College of Engineering’s Department of Human Development and Consumer Sciences (HDCS) hosted its first semiannual People-Centered Careers event, connecting Human Resource Development (HRD) students with industry leaders and educators and exhibiting the multitude of people-centered career pathways available to them after graduation.
The inaugural event was orchestrated by faculty member Jay Clancy and other HRD faculty members to “raise the standards for people professionals and build stronger pathways into careers working with people to make people, organizations and societies healthier.”
“Our vision is to provide clearer guidance to students and grow continually more qualified people professionals to meet organizations’ increasing needs for talent, learning and organizational development,” Clancy said. He maintains this vision for the next upcoming event, which is scheduled for Friday, February 27th, 2026.
“If we bring the right group of people together — students, educators, professionals, professional associations, governmental agencies and community leaders — we can build and illuminate stronger pathways for these potential professionals to grow into these standards and enter promising careers making big differences,” he added.
This semester’s event, scheduled to run from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at the University of Houston at Sugar Land, features high-profile speakers including VPs and Directors, such as the VP of Economic Development from Greater Houston Partnership, as well as a Commissioner from the Texas Workforce Commission. Representatives of government agencies, professional associations, local school districts and chambers of commerce are also expected to be in attendance.
“Human Resource Development (HRD) is about making people, organizations and even societies healthier,” said Clancy. “Our origins are in building organizational capabilities — through training, career management, coaching, leadership development, interpersonal skills, teamwork and organizational development — to help them perform better. We study how to promote human learning, growth and wellbeing, both individually and collectively.”
“With the right stakeholders, this event can create magic with the people right there in the room,” he continued. “The right people can make decisions and connections right within the event that could build future career pathways. This event is an example of such pathways — right in one room, a student can meet the college program, hiring organization, professional organizations and governmental agencies that can support their whole career.”
This Spring and going forward, Clancy hopes to continue to grow the event both in size and in prominence. This semester’s panelists and attendees represent the center of workforce development in the Houston area and in Texas, which he expects will support the HRD program in becoming the center of such conversations.
“Organizations are struggling for talent — HRD offers the solution,” he said. “I hope that we will inspire students who want to work with people to join the journey with us in making people and organizations healthier. I also want to show that this can be a viable profession and a way that they can progress into their degree, job and career. We further appeal to people who start their careers in non-people careers but want to move up in their fields; many technical professionals get master’s degrees in HRD-related fields to help them be better managers. I would like to think that we can inspire any student who is looking to make organizations and societies healthier.”
Click here to register and to view additional details of this spring’s People-Centered Careers Event at UH Sugar Land on Friday. February 27th, 2026.