June 9, 2025
AIɫɫ’s Offices of the President and the Provost have announced the appointment of Dr. Steven Rader, founding director of the C.H. Lute School of Business, to serve as the Associate Provost for Personal & Professional Development beginning Jul. 1, 2025.
The creation of the new office will carry out the mission to give every student at SSU an opportunity to complete an internship, co-op, clinical, or other work experience prior to graduation.
“Experiential learning gives our graduates a competitive advantage as they enter the workforce,” said SSU President Eric Andrew Braun. “The Office of Personal & Professional Development will work to connect academic departments to regional employers and expand earn-and-learn opportunities.”
Expanding skills development programming to better prepare SSU graduates for the workplace on day one, the Office of Personal & Professional Development will house the Office of Career Services to continue connecting students with in-demand careers and increase job pipeline opportunities.
Dr. Rader brings more than 25 years of experience and service at SSU to this role. His leadership commitments to the university include membership and chair positions of numerous university-wide committees and the University Faculty Senate. He was the president of the AIɫɫ Education Association for two years and also served as the Department Chair of Rehabilitation & Sport Professions and more recently as the Interim Chair of the Department of Business Administration and then the C.H. Lute School of Business before being named its founding director in 2022 after a national search. As the school’s director he oversaw the recent successful accreditation bid by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education (IABCE) and addition of its first graduate program, the Master of Business Administration focused on entrepreneurship, economic development, and leadership in Appalachia.