Branden Grimmett 
Associate Provost, Career and Professional Development | Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, CA, UNITED STATES
Higher Ed Leader & Speaker | Inclusion & Equity Advocate | Student Career Readiness Expert
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Biography
Branden Grimmett joined Loyola Marymount University as associate provost in June 2015, where he leads LMU’s Career and Professional Development team. In this role he oversees the office responsible for successfully launching 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students into their professional careers. Over 96% of LMU graduates from the undergraduate class of 2020 are employed, enrolled in graduate school, or pursuing post-graduate service within six months of graduation.
Dr. Grimmett is a frequent conference presenter and speaker, specializing in inclusive leadership, implicit bias mitigation, and student career development. His doctoral dissertation researched how Black, Latina, and Asian American presidents and provosts at predominantly white institutions navigated their universities in the era of #BlackLivesMatter.
His work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, American Public Media's Marketplace, ABC-7, the Career Leadership Collective, and the book Will College Pay Off? by Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School of Business.
Education (3)
University of Southern California: Doctor of Education, Higher Education
Harvard University: Master of Theological Studies, World Religions
St. Olaf College: Bachelor of Arts, Music, Religion
Areas of Expertise (13)
#BlackLivesMatter and the job hunt
Job Searching during COVID-19
Career Development
Internships
Change Management
Fundraising
Research
Student Affairs
Higher Education
Leadership
Networking
Public Speaking
Diversity & Inclusion in Higher Education
Industry Expertise (7)
Talent Management
Professional Training and Coaching
Executive Search
Education/Learning
Employment Services
Human Resources
Staffing and Recruiting
Affiliations (7)
- National Association of Colleges and Employers
- Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers
- National Career Services Benchmarking Group
- Consortium of Liberal Arts Schools and Independent Colleges
- Jesuit Career Consortium
- Lutheran Volunteer Corps
- Invertigo Dance Theatre
Languages (3)
- English
- French
- Mandarin
Media Appearances (10)
Ready for Fall: Supporting Career Development
Loyola Marymount University tv
2020-08-26
“There’s a strong correlation between online learning and the kinds of skills that employers are seeking,” says Branden Grimmett, associate provost for Career and Professional Development. See how LMU students can build their networks and prepare for impactful careers.
Can we shut down the shutdowns?
Marketplace by American Public Media radio
2019-01-29
The federal government might be reopened, but many Americans are still reeling. And, of course, it could close again in a few weeks. At 35 days, this was the longest shutdown in history, and we're still learning how the effects will ripple across the economy, politics and society. We get smart about how the shutdown is affecting one college administrator and then zoom out to the big question: How did closing the government even become a thing you can do, much less a bargaining chip for Congress and the White House? Joining us to explain is Roy Meyers, a political science professor at the University of Maryland. Plus, your super-smart insights on everything from how class and culture impact our thinking about higher education to a lifetime of delusional spelling.
45 Job Search Tips From Experts
Cheapism online
2019-05-17
If getting a job were as simple as filling out an application and getting picked, there wouldn't be countless books, websites, and professionals dedicated to giving advice about job searching. Cheapism reached out to career experts for tips to help you get started networking, applying, and interviewing for your dream job.
Democratizing Information: Peer-to-Peer Learning
Handshake Blog online
2018-12-18
“LMU is a national, international school as well. We have students from all 50 states, we have students from dozens of different countries outside the US. We want to make sure that wherever our students want to go work, there is some insider knowledge coming from all those different possible employers, all those 64,000+ employers. So for students based in LA who want to relocate the East Coast, we have to rely on the collective knowledge of the peer to peer network within Handshake to break open those different markets on a different coast, different continents those kinds of things. For us, those are clear benefits and big takeaways that we’ve gotten from the program.” - Branden Grimmett, Associate Provost for Career Services and Development at Loyola Marymount University
A Conversation with Branden Grimmett
Loyola Marymount University online
2017-11-15
Branden Grimmett joined Loyola Marymount University as associate provost in June 2015, where he leads the university’s Career and Professional Development initiative. Grimmett specializes in student return on investment, the rebranding of career services and measuring and reporting post-graduate outcomes. His work in career services has been featured in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, the Education Advisory Board, The Lawlor Review, The Hechinger Report, the Career Leadership Collective and in the book “Will College Pay Off?” Before joining LMU, Grimmett served as the founding director of the Piper Center for Vocation and Career at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and as associate director of career services at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. He talked with LMU This Week about his work.
3 Ways to Rethink Career Services and Post-College Outcomes
Academic Impressions online
2016-12-07
Tracking post-college outcomes continues to be an urgent issue as students, parents, and lawmakers press colleges to quantify the value of a college degree. Tracking results, however, is only half the battle, says Branden Grimmett, associate provost for the Office of Career and Professional Development at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Institutions that want to make a difference in their post-college outcomes need to transform their career services to better meet the changing needs of students and employers.
Colleges Are Tested by Push to Prove Graduates' Career Success
The Wall Street Journal online
2014-03-17
Colleges, under increased pressure to justify the cost of education, are having a hard time getting proof of graduates' success in finding well-paying jobs. Melissa Korn reports on Lunch Break.
Tracking and Highlighting the Success of College Graduates
The Lawlor Review online
2013-11-01
Since the onset of the Great Recession, Americans have been debating the importance of a college degree and whether it is worth the ever-increasing cost. While a majority still believe in the value of higher education, it’s clear that colleges and universities need to do a better job of not only ensuring their graduates are ready for work, but also highlighting and communicating the success of their graduates.
Handshake for All
Inside Higher Ed online
2019-08-20
The popular career services platform is now available to any student with a .edu email address -- and that's changing how career services are provided at many colleges and universities.
Career Expert Offers Advice to Students on Maximizing Virtual Recruiting Events to Land Jobs
ABC7 News tv
2020-06-17
Trends point to virtual hiring continuing for the foreseeable future. A career and professional development expert with Loyola Marymount University offers advice to college students looking for opportunities.
Event Appearances (5)
Disrupting for Change: Mainstreaming Inclusion in Our Work as Career Services Leaders
NACE Executive Leadership Symposium Orlando, FL
2019-06-02
Disrupting Bias & Mainstreaming Inclusion
MPACE Leadership Development Lunch + Learn Riverside, California
2019-06-21
Career Services Fireside Chat
Graduway Leaders Summit Los Angeles, CA
2019-04-03
The Future of Diversity at Work
ASU+GSV Summit San Diego, CA
2018-04-17
The Future of Career Services in Colleges and Universities
Close It Summit Chicago, IL
2017-09-25
Style
Availability
- Keynote
- Moderator
- Panelist
- Workshop Leader
- Corporate Training
Fees
Articles (3)
COVID and Careers
The AfterlifeBranden Grimmett
2021-01-28
The virus has reshaped the economy, the job search and how employers seek employees. Branden Grimmett reflects on what career development means now and post-pandemic.
The Art of Leadership: Lessons from a Musician
The Career Leadership CollectiveBranden Grimmett
2017-08-28
Effective leaders are not made from such ordeals – they’re tested by them, and the skills required of today’s career services leader look much like the skills of a professional musician. As a classically trained musician and a career services leader, I have always been fascinated that both roles call for resilience, focus, agility, patience, vulnerability, and confidence. Duke Ellington once said, “The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.”
Check Your Bias at the Career Center Door
The Career Leadership CollectiveBranden Grimmett
2017-01-17
The career services profession currently lacks adequate training opportunities for working with diverse student populations. As a result, career services professionals may carry with them un-examined implicit biases, unknowingly doing harm to underrepresented students. Diverse career center staff often find themselves pigeonholed, assigned to liaise only with student groups whose ethnic identity they share. Too often as leaders, we unconsciously hire staff that look like us, talk like us, and think like us – stifling innovation for the sake of preserving the status quo.
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