Continuing and Professional Education names new director
horizontal portrait of Shelly Jobst
Shelly Jobst has been named director of Continuing and Professional Education, a unit in Outreach and International Affairs.
Jobst, a longtime employee of Continuing and Professional Education, will oversee a $9 million portfolio of program services for conferences, short courses, workshops, and certificate programs.
Clients include not only university faculty members and research centers, but also the Virginia Economic Developers Association, military and intelligence agencies, and Virginia’s Department of Education, Department of Health, and Department of Transportation.
Susan Short, associate vice president for engagement, said, “Continuing and Professional Education is well positioned to help expand the link between the university’s wealth of expertise and those the land-grant university serves. Jobst’s approach to collaborating with stakeholders will aid creation of innovative program offerings, particularly in relation to the university’s destination areas.”
In her previous roles, Jobst led more than 350 teams to plan and implement conferences, workshops, and training programs for adult learners. Most recently, she led Continuing and Professional Education’s implementation of a new enrollment-and-registration system, Destiny One.
Jobst said, “Only months into using Destiny One, we’ve been able to automate administrative tasks, which enables staff to focus on quality results in other areas.”
Jobst was involved in planning high-profile conferences with the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. She coordinated major international conferences, including the Collaborating Across Borders V Conference and the American Society for Virology annual meeting, each drawing more than 1,000 participants.
Jobst earned a bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, as well as a master’s in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ dairy science, physiology, program at Virginia Tech. She was a project manager with Interactive Design and Development before joining Virginia Tech.
Continuing and Professional Education provides 350 noncredit programs to more than 25,000 adult learners each year.
Jobst replaces Scott Weimer, who is interim director of the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center as well as director of strategic partnerships and program development.
