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Alumna Audrey Southard to deliver Jobs PLUS talk on communication styles

November 9, 2016

jobs-plus2-homepage-portraitAudrey Southard, who earlier this year received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the NIU College of Business, will deliver the next Jobs PLUS professional development event, titled “What’s My Style? Learning to Communicate with Others.”

The event will be held at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in 71 North of Founders Memorial Library, a new collaborative enterprise space being developed to foster student innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives. Students are encouraged to visit the Jobs PLUS website to register for the event.

Registration for the event will be accepted through Friday, Nov. 11. Students will be asked to complete a short questionnaire prior to attending, which will be emailed to them after registration.

This Jobs PLUS event will help individuals understand their own communication and personality styles, as well as the styles of others and how to best work together in a diverse environment.

Southard has been a human resources executive for more than 30 years. She retired as the senior vice president of business process engineering at Follett Corporation in 2014 to focus on her passions of working with college students and coaching business professionals.

She has invested in faculty research and innovation at NIU by establishing a faculty excellence fund in management. Southard also serves on the NIU College of Business Advisory Board and the Career Services Advisory Board for the University of Denver.

Southard began her career in human resource management at Nabisco, then spent 11 years in human resources at the Tribune Company before moving to Follett. By the time she was promoted to her senior vice president position, she was already leading the human resources, communication, procurement, facilities and loss prevention components for Follett’s largest division, Follett Higher Education Group (FHEG).

Southard is an active member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Human Resource Management Association of Chicago (HRMAC) and presents frequently at conferences and trade shows.

Jobs PLUS regularly hosts free professional development events open to all NIU students. Through partnerships with employers, students could even be eligible to attend these events on paid work time. Jobs PLUS events qualify for Passport in the College of Business and Honors Engaged in University Honors.

To learn more about Jobs PLUS or future professional development events, visit the Jobs PLUS website or contact Chad Glover.