After Midterms, AGSM's Dr. Daryl D. Green and HBCU Educators Call for Proof of Career Readiness
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Presenters (left to right): Dr. Daryl D. Green, Dr. Heidi O'Donnell, and Professor Malayna Hasmanis.
Former Langston dean Dr. Daryl D. Green, Dr. Heidi O'Donnell and Prof. Malayna Hasmanis share how an HBCU measured career readiness with NACE data.
Our students don't need another promise. They need proof.”
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, UNITED STATES, November 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- As the nation considers the meaning of the November 3 midterm elections, former Langston University School of Business dean Dr. Daryl D. Green is calling for a different kind of accountability: evidence that college students are developing the capabilities needed for a changing workforce.— Dr. Daryl D. Green, Former Dean, Langston University School of Business
On November 10, Green joined Langston University educators Dr. Heidi O’Donnell, DBA, and Professor Malayna Hasmanis, MPA, M.Ed., to present “Proof Under Pressure: Measuring Career Readiness at an HBCU” at the 2026 Workforce Readiness Conference, a national virtual event presented by The Teaching Professor (Magna Publications). Their presentation followed National First-Generation College Celebration Day on November 8.
“Elections change who holds office. They don’t decide whether a first-generation student walks into her first job ready to lead,” Green said. “That work belongs to educators, employers, and communities, no matter who won. Our students don’t need another promise. They need proof.”
From Good Intentions to Demonstrated Skills
“I have been in academia for over 20 years. Many institutions are well-intentioned but do not focus enough on the end product,” Green said. “We have to prepare students who are battle-tested and ready for a world of disruption. That is why I introduced innovation into the Langston University School of Business curriculum.”
Green and O’Donnell redesigned Langston’s required business internship course, BA 4993, from a largely self-guided process into a structured experience incorporating coaching, professional portfolios, mock interviews, AI literacy, supervisor feedback, and assessments aligned with the eight career-readiness competencies of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
The approach assesses students at the beginning and end of the experience and uses their work and supervisor feedback to guide improvement. In spring 2026, students’ self-assessments rose in all eight NACE competencies; technology, for example, climbed from 3.19 to 3.65 on a four-point scale. These findings show perceived competency growth, not independently verified hiring or employment outcomes.
“An internship can teach students things that are difficult to fully understand in a classroom,” O’Donnell said. “They learn how to build skills and competencies, communicate with people and cultures they don’t already know, manage responsibilities, ask questions, and respond when a situation doesn’t go as expected.”
Seven Business Graduates, New Possibilities
In August 2026, seven students earned business degrees at Oklahoma’s Dick Conner Correctional Center through Langston University, where Hasmanis served as lead faculty.
“Seeing seven students earn their business degrees at Dick Conner Correctional Center reinforced my belief that education has the power to transform lives and systems,” Hasmanis said. “It challenges barriers, expands opportunity, restores possibility, and reminds us that potential is never defined by circumstance.”
Hasmanis, Langston’s Second Chance Pell Program Coordinator, also discussed how elements of competency-based career preparation could be adapted for justice-impacted learners. That proposed application remains in development and has not yet been evaluated as an employment-readiness intervention.
A Practical Model for Other Campuses
The presenters shared five steps other institutions can adapt: define career competencies, assess students before and after learning experiences, build work samples students can show employers, obtain actionable supervisor feedback, and refine at least one practice each semester.
“First-generation students carry their families’ hopes into every classroom,” Green said. “When we can show them, and show employers, what they are able to do, we honor that hope.”
Dr. Green, Dr. O’Donnell, and Professor Hasmanis are available for interviews on career readiness, HBCU innovation, workforce disruption, and higher education for incarcerated learners.
About AGSM Consulting LLC and Dr. Daryl D. Green
Issued independently by AGSM Consulting LLC, this announcement reflects Dr. Green’s professional perspective and is not an official Langston University news release. Green is a scholar-practitioner, author, workforce-disruption researcher, and former dean of the Langston University School of Business. Before his academic career, he served for 27 years as a senior engineering manager at the U.S. Department of Energy, overseeing more than $100 million in projects. His Nehemiah Blueprint in the Age of AI explores how people and communities rebuild amid disruption. The conference presentation is a collaboration with Langston educators Dr. O’Donnell and Professor Hasmanis.
Daryl D. Green
Dr. Daryl D. Green
advice@darylgreen.org
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