Dr. Rob Shea was a career development champion at Memorial University — and beyond.
For his contribution to the field, Dr. Shea has been posthumously recognized with the Etta St. John Wileman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career Development.
The Etta St. John Wileman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career Development was established in 2007 to recognize and celebrate individuals who have made a significant impact in the field of career development. The award was named after Etta St. John Wileman, an early 20th-century champion of career, work and workplace development in Canada.
Generous and devoted
Dr. Shea worked at Memorial University for 30 years.
He was an award-winning researcher and served as an associate professor in the Faculty of Education and in numerous leadership roles.
He was also passionate about military-to-civilian transitions and mentored members of the military community.
“[Rob Shea’s] legacy will continue to inspire us all to work toward a more inclusive and equitable future in career development.”
Dr. Shea was the founding chair of CERIC’s board of directors and was involved with the organization for 20 years.
He was also a long-standing board member of its funder, the Counselling Foundation of Canada.
He was also the founding editor of the Canadian Journal of Career Development, Canada’s only peer-reviewed career development journal.
‘Tireless advocate’
Kay Castelle, the executive director of CERIC, says Dr. Shea generously shared his wisdom and incredible depth of knowledge as part of the board.
“Rob has been a tireless advocate for our work and was excited about new projects CERIC was developing, including around military-to-civilian transitions, which he was particularly passionate about,” she said.
In 1997 Dr. Shea served as board chair at ContactPoint, Canada’s pioneering web hub for the career development community. He helped shape Cannexus into Canada’s largest career development conference.
In 2009 he established the Rob Shea Research Award with the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers, presented for significant research in the areas of career practice (counselling, education, planning, advising and coaching) and school-to-work transition (recruitment, retention, corporate career development, human resource education).
This year, CERIC dedicated a new Military 2 Civilian Employment: A Career Practitioner’s Guide to Dr. Shea.
“Rob was a dreamer with big, audacious goals who truly believed career development was a cornerstone to individual, community and overall societal success,” said Dr. Jennifer Browne, director of Student Life at Memorial University and a member of the award selection committee. “A champion in the field, he was instrumental in establishing the Etta St. John Wileman Award. In a poignant video message several years ago, Rob reflected on the importance of recognizing individuals who have been influential in — as he called it — this beautiful field of career development.
“On behalf of CERIC’s Etta St. John Wileman Award selection committee, it is my privilege to posthumously present the Etta St. John Wileman Award for Outstanding Achievement to my dear friend, Dr. Rob Shea. His legacy will continue to inspire us all to work toward a more inclusive and equitable future in career development,” Dr. Browne continued.
