The Putnam University Center in Salem will soon be home to the new Renjen Career Center, a professional hub for students seeking to leverage their Willamette education into meaningful and high-impact careers. Bringing together Willamette’s career services under one roof in the heart of the Salem campus, the Renjen Career Center will provide a welcoming environment for students at any stage of the career discernment process.
The $2 million project is the final step of the university’s multi-year expansion of career services, a recognition of Willamette’s commitment to preparing its students for the internship and job opportunities they need to turn knowledge into action and pursue lives of achievement, contribution, and meaning.
Willamette’s career development program is already more extensive than many of our peer institutions and boasts more staff per student than many large institutions. The new space will position Willamette’s career services as a best-in-class program.
Opening during the Fall 2025 semester, the Renjen Career Center will benefit both undergraduate and graduate students. It will feature advising offices, private, reservable conference rooms, and community spaces that will enhance existing and expanded career programming. The Center will be the home for career advising and mentoring, virtual or in-person interviews, educational programming, and more.
The new Center — named in honor of family members of Punit Renjen MM’87 — will be located directly across from the Bistro at the Northeast corner of the Putnam University Center. Blitz Market will relocate to the Sparks Center.
“The Renjen Career Center will be transformative for students as they prepare for their professional journeys,” said Willamette University President Steve Thorsett. “We are confident this will be a lively hub where students can connect their academic passions with meaningful career pathways that will serve the evolving needs of employers throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.”
