Scott Solberg was announced director of Wisconsin Careers, a program within the Center on Education and Work, yesterday.

The CEW provides teachers and counselors with resources on career development for their students.

"I am very happy to be working at the University of Wisconsin because it offers me a wealth of resources that I have never had access to before," Solberg said.

Solberg comes to UW with a distinguished reputation in the field of career development, having designed programs in the Milwaukee school district at South Division High School to help at-risk youths stay out of trouble after school, as well as the development of an intervention program.

"We need an intervention to not only help [students] to aspire for good careers, but also helping them build the academic skills needed to be successful," Solberg said.

Dr. Allen Phelps, director of the CEW, said the program is fortunate to have a professor of such high quality on staff because it is a benefit for the university and the surrounding community as well.

"We have to design a system so that it works well in urban schools, and he has done a lot of research on the success of minority children in middle schools and high schools in Milwaukee over the last decade," Phelps said.

The program that Solberg set up in Milwaukee has been used all over the state to help students succeed in school and in their chosen career path.

At UW, Solberg wants to expand the Wisconsin Careers program to help in the urban areas of Madison.

"Career development is so closely tied to the academic success as well as the interpersonal and social success of a student," Solberg said.

According to Phelps, the goal in hiring Solberg was to continue the success that UW has already had and take it to an even higher level.

"His expertise is going to help improve our career and higher-ed. information systems," Phelps said.

The system is not only going to be used for the Madison community, Phelps hopes, but also statewide.

"We make that system available to schools and communities around Wisconsin and, increasingly, around the country," Phelps said. "It is one of the outreach programs we have."

Without question, UW officials believe Solberg will be an essential addition to UW's Wisconsin Careers program.

"His passion, vision, professional networks and entrepreneurial focus are significant assets on which Wisconsin Careers and the center can formulate many exciting and important future initiatives," a statement from the CEW said.