Spring Break
Nonprofit sector yields many jobs
MELISSA WEINMAN
Issue date: 4/30/07 Section: News
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While it seems the rest of the world thinks today's youth are selfish, lazy and apathetic, Dr. Tom Hollad disagrees.
Holland, director of the institute for nonprofit organizations and a professor of sociology, has watched interest in nonprofit management grow over the last seven years at the University.
Holland began the Master's in Nonprofit Organizations program at the University in 2000.
"A colleague and I went around campus and looked for relevant courses," said Holland. "The faculty we talked to fell in love with the idea."
With best-selling books such as Robert D. Putnam's "Bowling Alone" claiming that the number of young people volunteering and donating has declined since the 1970s, it would seem programs such as the University's, which cater to nonprofit organizations, would not succeed.
Holland said that's not the case. He said the current "transient culture" is doing more short-term volunteering and joining, rather than less volunteering as a whole.
There are 97 schools in the country that offer graduate courses in managing nonprofits, said Holland, and only six schools that offer a full degree. The University's program is the only one in the Southeast.
Since it began in 2000, the program has seen 49 graduates who are working for a variety of organizations all over the U.S.
"I would have expected people to spend more time in assistant positions; they're moving on up," said Holland about the high success rate of his students after completing their master's degrees.
There are two different reasons for the high job placement rate for the MNPO graduates.
Holland said that in the nonprofit sector, there is a "huge labor force gap," with a 60 percent increase in demand over supply of trained managers. This is due partly to the large number of nonprofit organizations and partly to the retirement of older employees.
Many nonprofit organizations were started in the 1950s and 1960s, said Holland, translating to a high number of managers at retirement age.
Holland, director of the institute for nonprofit organizations and a professor of sociology, has watched interest in nonprofit management grow over the last seven years at the University.
Holland began the Master's in Nonprofit Organizations program at the University in 2000.
"A colleague and I went around campus and looked for relevant courses," said Holland. "The faculty we talked to fell in love with the idea."
With best-selling books such as Robert D. Putnam's "Bowling Alone" claiming that the number of young people volunteering and donating has declined since the 1970s, it would seem programs such as the University's, which cater to nonprofit organizations, would not succeed.
Holland said that's not the case. He said the current "transient culture" is doing more short-term volunteering and joining, rather than less volunteering as a whole.
There are 97 schools in the country that offer graduate courses in managing nonprofits, said Holland, and only six schools that offer a full degree. The University's program is the only one in the Southeast.
Since it began in 2000, the program has seen 49 graduates who are working for a variety of organizations all over the U.S.
"I would have expected people to spend more time in assistant positions; they're moving on up," said Holland about the high success rate of his students after completing their master's degrees.
There are two different reasons for the high job placement rate for the MNPO graduates.
Holland said that in the nonprofit sector, there is a "huge labor force gap," with a 60 percent increase in demand over supply of trained managers. This is due partly to the large number of nonprofit organizations and partly to the retirement of older employees.
Many nonprofit organizations were started in the 1950s and 1960s, said Holland, translating to a high number of managers at retirement age.
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