Dana Fallon Appointed Director of Career Services & Business Engagement

Vice President Steve Partridge recently announced that Ms. Dana Fallon has been appointed as director of career services and business engagement in the Office of Strategy, Research and Workforce Innovation.

Fallon began her work at NOVA in June 2018 as manager of career services. She became associate director of employer and career services in September 2021 and has been serving in her current role as interim director since the departure of Melanie Stover in November 2021.

“When I came to NOVA, my main focus was on working with employers who wanted to recruit NOVA students and alumni for jobs and internships and managing Career Connection, NOVA‘s career management system. To make those connections to students, I worked collaboratively across the college with the great staff and faculty for both credit and non-credit programs,” she said.

“I am excited to carry on the outreach to students that educate them about career planning and development and the great resources available to them around internships and jobs. In only a year, the team has exponentially increased student engagement in programs, workshops, access to career connection and we are seeing students succeed by earning internships and jobs. I also look forward to the interactions and collaborations with faculty and staff across the college.”

Business Engagement and Career Services has access to thousands of employers willing and ready to engage students at events, workshops, fairs, on campus or virtually, to provide jobs but also professional development opportunities. Fallon says she looks forward to learning more from faculty about how they can better connect employers and students in specific program areas.

Fallon received her undergraduate degree at Gannon University. This is where she learned that higher education administration was actually a job option, and she currently serves on their board of trustees. She received her master’s degree from Kent State and her law degree from George Mason University School of Law. She is a member of the Virginia Bar.

“I still consider Buffalo, New York home, despite now having lived longer outside of New York. Having much of our families still there, my husband and I go home often. I am very involved with Gannon University as a member of the Board of Trustees, and in my spare time from working in higher education, I volunteer to help support Gannon’s current students. When not at home in Arlington, I spend as much time as possible in the Shenandoah Valley to enjoy and relax in the mountains,” she said. “I hope this is my last job (and office—I have been in four different ones in the four years!). Having worked in higher education my whole career, the mission and impact of community colleges, in particular NOVA, make this the job I want when I grow up.”

Submitted by:
Kathy Thompson, Communications, KAThompson@nvcc.edu