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Purpose Center

About

At West Virginia University, each day holds new promise, new opportunities to make a difference. We are a campus community that seeks to improve and better the world around us – through education, healthcare and prosperity. We do that by living our Mountaineer Values of Service, Curiosity, Respect, Accountability and Appreciation. And we power forward together with Purpose.

The Purpose Center, the only one of its kind to exist on a 4-year college campus, serves as a place for connection and self-exploration. Connecting students with resources across campus to pursue the things they’re passionate about and creating a safe space for them to discover who they are and the impact they want to have on the world around them.

Since launching in Fall 2022, the Purpose Center has had more than 101,000 interactions through more than 1600 group workshops or classroom visits, over 1200 one-on-one coaching sessions, and partnerships with more than 185 departments or units across campus. The result is an engaged, strengths-based culture where everyone feels empowered to become the best versions of themselves.

The WVU Purpose Center is a three-time Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award winner honoring it's work as a Strengths-Based Campus. This global award recognizes workplaces that are committed to building a thriving culture where performance and people matter.

Why the Work We’re Doing Matters

The Purpose Center seeks to fill gaps and provide additional support touchpoints to students. For students who might be feeling lost or unsure of their path, we can better prepare them for more productive meetings with career services specialists and academic advisors . Our workshops and support seek to help students build confidence, create stronger self-awareness, connect students to campus resources, as well as build essential skills such as communication, resilience, and conflict resolution. Research shows 97% of employers have indicated that essential (also often referred to as soft) skills are either as important or more important than hard skills. The WVU Purpose Center helps students understand what their essential skills are and helps them find ways they can use them every day.

Course and content surveys show that students who have participated in a variety of strengths and purpose programming have reported higher levels of self-confidence, greater awareness of their leadership style, and greater ability to navigate conflict and communicate more effectively. Partnered with other student success interventions, we've also seen increased GPA, stronger engagement, and retention in the classroom. We are currently doing research to evaluate and measure how specific programming and content impacts the student experience.

Research shows 97% of employers have indicated that essential (also often referred to as soft) skills are either as important or more important than hard skills.

Our Team

Cate Schlobohm portrait

Cate Schlobohm

Director Arranger®, Positivity®, Developer®, Maximizer®, Woo®

cate.schlobohm@mail.wvu.edu

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Our Partners

The Purpose Center has collaborated with over 130 departments across campus including all 13 academic colleges and units, over 40 different majors, and units within academic support, student success, student life, and university relations and enrollment management.

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