Vocation: An Itinerary of Hope for Higher Education

The landscape of higher education is currently marked by a great deal of chaos, uncertainty, and a growing sense of disillusionment—even among the sector’s most dedicated advocates. National narratives question the value of a college education; government officials seek to restrict the work of educators through financial, legal, and political channels; and everything is taking place against the background of large-scale world-historical events—war and civil unrest, economic fragility, climate change, political polarization, and technological juggernauts. In such circumstances, where is wisdom to be found? How can we build a bulwark against despair, in the midst of such difficulties and when all signs point to ever-worsening conditions? What might provide us with some intimations of hope?

While it is neither the answer to all our problems nor the sole source of hopefulness, the work of supporting our students as they explore and discern their vocations can certainly serve as a means of generating and holding fast to the possibility of a better future. Institutions that are members of CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) have already demonstrated a deep commitment to supporting their students as they explore and discern their many callings in life. When leaders from NetVUE member institutions gather in Kansas City this spring, they will focus on how they might increase this support and thereby make a difference for everyone involved in higher education—faculty members, administrators, staff, and students—empowering them to face the future with clear-eyed conviction that things can be otherwise. Our hopefulness is not merely a sunny optimism, nor a means of avoiding the genuine problems that we face; it can set us on a journey in which we gather the strength that we need to persevere. The concept of vocation can provide us with an itinerary of hope, reminding us that we have access to excellent resources, powerful programming, financial support, and dedicated colleagues—all of which can help us face the future with genuine hope.

CIC is grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc. for its ongoing support of NetVUE.

Who Should Participate?

Each NetVUE member college and university is invited to designate a three- to five-person campus team, led by the president, chief academic officer, or another individual at the vice presidential level. The team should include others who play key roles in helping undergraduates explore and discern their vocations, whether focusing on personal development, educational plans, or postgraduate choices. Teams may include faculty members, academic affairs staff, student life staff, chaplains, vocation program directors, career services advisors, and others whose portfolios include helping students to consider their many callings in life.

Thanks to member dues and generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc., the registration fee of $1,250, which includes the costs of two nights’ accommodations, all conference meals, and program materials, will be reduced to a registration fee of $200 for each of the three team members from NetVUE institutions. Up to two additional team members may register at the institution’s expense (with a considerably reduced cost available for those willing to share a hotel room). Participating institutions will be responsible for covering travel expenses for all team members; however, a limited number of travel grants are available. Team leaders who wish to inquire about a travel grant should contact Lynne Spoelhof, director of NetVUE operations, at lspoelhof@cic.edu.

Plenary Sessions

Keynote Address

Vocatio: Called to Transformative Encounter

Norman Wirzba, Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology, Duke University (NC)

The day-to-day routines of educating rarely prompt or foster sustained and rigorous questioning of what an education is for. In this keynote address, Wirzba asks us to reconsider what a human being is and why educating is central to human development and fulfillment. What are the conditions by which people want to give themselves to each other, as well as to their communities and neighborhoods? What can those of us in higher education do to provide students with the kinds of transformative encounters that will help them to explore and discern their callings? Through an examination of connection, meaning, and purpose, Wirzba will offer a hopeful vision for education that affirms the sacred character of this life—an affirmation that rests on developing what he calls a “sensuous intelligence” committed to creative and skilled engagement within our shared world.

Quarter-Plenaries

New this year, NetVUE will divide the Friday morning plenary session into four “quarter-plenaries,” each of which will address a particularly important theme at the intersection of vocation and higher education. Campus teams are encouraged to plan ahead and to attend different sessions, so that their institutions can profit from the perspectives of at least three of the four sessions. The four topics and their associated presenters are:

Advocacy and Vocation in Troubled Times

Many educators have entered the profession so that they can advocate for their students—particularly those who come to college without the advantages conferred by wealth, parental encouragement, and high-quality K–12 education. Many first-generation students, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and students who have been marginalized for their differences are especially in need of advocates, and nowhere is this more evident than in the work of vocational exploration and discernment. In the wake of the current backlash against equity and inclusion programming, what strategies and tactics are most successful as we seek to advocate for all our students? How can we ensure that our efforts related to vocation and calling are widely available and accessible to all students, so that they reach beyond those who take it for granted as a part of the college experience? In this interactive session, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on these issues and to develop both personal and institutional strategies for student advocacy.

Geoffrey Bateman, Professor and Chair, Department of Peace and Justice Studies, Regis University (CO); NetVUE Blog Editor
Joanna Gregson, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Pacific Lutheran University (WA)
Richard M. Smith, Professor of Sociology, Associate Vice President for Institutional Mission and Belonging, and College Chaplain, McDaniel College (MD)

Implementing Vocation-Infused Advising

Particularly at our liberal arts institutions, the advising process offers a wonderful opportunity for meaningful conversations with our students. Through advising, we can help students move away from some of their misconceptions about majors, co-curricular activities, and career paths; we can also help them think about the broader relationship between their undergraduate experience and their future lives. All too often, though, the advising process becomes merely transactional—filling in course selection forms and making sure students are on track to graduate. How might we re-envision the advising process so that it becomes a genuine opportunity for mentoring students and for encouraging them to explore and discern their vocations? In this interactive session, leaders from three NetVUE institutions will describe the ways that they have sought to strengthen and deepen the advising experience, using it to connect with students about how they understand meaning, purpose, and vocation. Participants will be given the opportunity to consider how they might strengthen the advising process at their own institutions.

Diane C. LeBlanc, Associate Dean for the First-Year Experience and Sophomore Thriving, St. Olaf College (MN)
Michael T. Matraia, Associate Professor of Accounting; Pre-Law Advisor, Assumption University (MA)
Sarah Summers, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Franklin College (IN)

Navigating Vocation in an AI World

This interactive workshop explores how generative AI is reshaping undergraduate students’ approach to vocational exploration and discernment. As students increasingly navigate the tension between developing a philosophy of life and preparing for careers in a rapidly evolving professional landscape, we will examine both the opportunities and challenges AI presents for meaningful work and calling. Through collaborative roundtable discussions and hands-on activities, participants will explore practical strategies for integrating AI considerations into campus vocational programs while preserving the embodied, deeply human elements of purpose, meaning, and service to the common good. This interdisciplinary session brings together philosophical, ethical, and practical perspectives to help students discern their callings in an AI-enhanced world.

Gerald D. Griffin, Provost, Hope College (MI)
Caryn D. Riswold, Professor of Religion, McCoy Family Distinguished Chair in Lutheran Heritage and Mission, Wartburg College (IA)
Gregor Thuswaldner, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, La Roche University (PA)

The Purposeful Student Athlete

Campuses love to celebrate sporting achievements, and they frequently feature varsity athletes in institutional publicity. Many campuses also rely upon athletes for enrollment. But many student-athletes live in a silo—focused on athletics, segregated from nonathletic peers, and less interested in questions about life after college. This is not good for student-athletes, and it is not good for their campuses. The Purposeful Student-Athlete project is visiting eight to ten NetVUE campuses that take a different approach to student-athletes. These campuses prioritize athletes as whole persons with vital questions of purpose to explore and answer. Doing this important work requires intentionality, campus-wide commitment, and ownership by coaches and athletic staff. During this workshop, the leaders of the Purposeful Student-Athlete project will report preliminary findings from this study, share working models, and invite participants to reflect on the benefits and barriers to student-athlete vocational exploration on their campus.

Tim Clydesdale, Professor of Sociology, The College of New Jersey
Michael B. Mitchell, Associate Professor in the Departments of African American Studies and of Criminology, The College of New Jersey
Angela R. (Angie) Morenz, Professor of Physical Education and Sport Management, Blackburn College (IL)

Closing Plenary

Teaching to Live: Reclaiming the Sometimes-Revolutionary Calling to Teach and Lead

Almeda M. Wright, Associate Professor of Religious Education, Yale Divinity School (CT)

Almeda Wright’s work explores the narratives of twentieth-century African American activist-educators and the ways they committed their lives to teaching and leading students. She observes that, while many of these educators were later lauded as revolutionary or radical leaders who launched movements for social change, all began with a humbler calling: to teach. Wright’s closing plenary address will expand on the ways that this calling to teach was often deeply rooted in local contexts and in a genuine love of the students—and also a love of the communities where these educators found themselves working. Wright’s address will not only offer a larger sense of the lives of historical activist-educators; it will also inspire us to renew our commitments to our educational contexts, to invest in our students and communities, and to remain open to the “sometimes-revolutionary” impact of the work we all do on our campuses.

NetVUE Resources and Opportunities

New this year: Many useful resources and opportunities are available to faculty members and staff at NetVUE member institutions. This session will provide information and insight into these offerings—not as a typical “information session,” but as a live experience of the resources and opportunities themselves. These sessions will provide a taste of how various NetVUE offerings can make a difference on member campuses.

• Ask Me Another! Using NetVUE Conversation Cards on Your Campus
• Callings Live! The NetVUE Podcast, Recorded Before a Live Audience
• Drop-in Consultations for Individuals and Campus Teams
• Measuring NetVUE Outcomes for Students and for Institutions: What We Are Learning
• Scriptural Reasoning as Vocational Reflection
• The Vocation of an Educator: Exploring This Year’s Big Read Theme

Pre- and Post-Conference Workshops

NetVUE will again offer specialized workshops for those who can arrive a day early or stay through Saturday afternoon. Four options are being offered this year: two (longer) pre-conference workshops and two (shorter) post-conference options.

The two pre-conference workshops will begin on Wednesday, March 18, at 1:00 p.m. (CT) and conclude with lunch on Thursday, March 19; the price for either pre-conference workshop is $450 and includes Wednesday dinner, Thursday breakfast and lunch, and overnight accommodation at the conference hotel.

The two post-conference workshops will begin on Saturday, March 21, at 1:00 p.m. (CT) and conclude at 4:00 p.m. (CT) that afternoon. The price for either post-conference workshop is $50. Some participants may wish to remain for dinner at their own expense. For those who need an additional night of accommodation, a limited number of rooms may be available at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel for Saturday night at the conference rate of $211 plus tax. To reserve a room for Saturday night, simply include that night when you make your hotel reservation for the conference; the credit card that you use to cover incidentals will be charged for the extra night when you check out.

Pre-Conference Workshops

Integrating Vocation into Community-Engaged Learning: From Transactional to Transformative

Experiential learning reinforces the authentic, relational experiences that transformative education can foster—experiences at the heart of our universities’ missions and critical value propositions. This pre-conference workshop explores the intersection of vocation and community-engaged learning (CEL), emphasizing the benefits of deepening our vocational discernment practices with students who are engaged in the powerful work of CEL. The workshop will include practical tools, shareable assignments, and expert resources to deepen vocational discernment with students. Participants will engage in collaborative discussions, develop an activity or assignment connecting vocation with community-based teaching, and gain strategies for sustainable integration across courses and institutions. Leaders will host two virtual follow-up meetings to continue resource development and offer support.

Heather R. Brady, Professor of Liberal Arts, Grand View University (IA)
Terese J. Lund, Associate Vice Provost for Purposeful Pathways, Wingate College (NC)
Amy S. Patterson, Professor of Politics and Director, Office of Civic Engagement, Sewanee: The University of the South (TN)
Anna Stewart, Director, Institute for Leadership and Service, Valparaiso University (IN)

Writing Our Vocational Narratives

Narrative is a rich and compelling element of vocational writing, both personally and professionally. Moreover, it can be a platform for enhancing pedagogy, scholarship, reflection, and self-narration; it can also enrich academic writing. However, few higher education professionals are trained in the art of personal narrative. This pre-conference workshop will equip participants with tools and practices for crafting their own vocational stories. The workshop will include instruction on craft, a range of writing activities, and practice with the art of giving and receiving constructive feedback within a community of writers. Participants will leave the workshop with seeds for a future project. Writers of all experience levels are welcome.

Geoffrey Bateman, Professor and Chair, Department of Peace and Justice Studies, Regis University (CO); NetVUE Blog Editor
Krista E. Hughes, Adjunct Professor of Religion, Wofford College (SC); NetVUE Director of Resource Development
Erin A. VanLaningham, Professor of English, Loras College (IA); NetVUE Director of Project Development

Post-Conference Workshops

Global Engagement as Vocational Journey

Many campuses provide international programs for their students, either through semester-long study abroad or short-term travel courses guided by faculty members. With the right scaffolding and intentional spaces for reflection, global engagement can provide a uniquely rich opportunity for vocational discernment and exploration, exposing students to new perspectives and ways of life and, in turn, equipping them to ask deep questions of self, world, and others. Global engagement is also an avenue for higher education professionals to explore their own sense of vocation as educators.

This interactive workshop will introduce participants to the fruits of framing global engagement and education as a vocational journey. Workshop facilitators will offer case studies—profiling international programs for students, staff and faculty members, and administrators—and then will lead participants through a process of sketching programmatic possibilities for their home institutions. This workshop is open to any campus professional interested in enhancing or developing global education opportunities at their home institution. Campus teams are encouraged to attend.

Katherine (Kat) Brown, Director of Mission and Identity Programs, Loyola Marymount University (CA)
Joseph (Joe) Connelly, Institutional Relations Manager and Program Facilitator, Center for Global Education and Experience, Augsburg University (MN)
Lisa Ho, Director of International and Off-Campus Programs, Ohio Wesleyan University

Writing a Compelling NetVUE Grant Proposal

This interactive session, led by the NetVUE grants team, is designed to support faculty members and staff at member institutions in shaping strong proposals for NetVUE grant opportunities. The team will introduce the range of available grant programs, explain eligibility requirements, offer practical tips for crafting compelling applications, and share patterns that have correlated with effective campus programming. Participants will learn about the guidance and resources NetVUE provides once a grant is awarded and throughout the grant period. The workshop will allow significant time for small-group conversations organized by grant program, giving attendees the chance to explore emerging ideas, ask questions, and receive feedback from the member of the grants team who is responsible for that particular grant program. Institutions and individuals preparing for their first NetVUE grant—as well as those that have experience with previous NetVUE grant applications—are most welcome.

W. Carter Aikin, Department Chair, Philosophy and Religion, Blackburn College (IL); NetVUE Grants Director
Kari Kloos, Vice President for Mission and Professor of Religious Studies, Regis University (CO); NetVUE Grant Program Officer
Robert Pampel, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis (MO); NetVUE Grant Program Officer
Jane E. Walters, NetVUE Grants and Membership Manager, Council of Independent Colleges

Hotel and Travel

Conference Venue

Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center
2345 McGee Street
Kansas City, Missouri 64108
Phone: (816) 841-1000

Please note: Participants must make their own hotel reservations. The hotel room rate for conference dates (Thursday and Friday nights) is included with conference registration; an additional night (Wednesday) is also included for those who register for a pre-conference workshop.

Room Rate for extra nights: $211 single/double per night

Hotel Reservation Deadline: Monday, February 23, 2026, 11:59 p.m. (CT)

However, please make your hotel reservation as soon as you have registered, in order to avoid being closed out of the hotel, as rooms are limited.

The Sheraton Kansas City Hotel, located 22 miles from the Kansas City International Airport, is in downtown Kansas City, also known as the City of Fountains, where more than 200 majestic fountains adorn the city. The hotel is adjoined by skywalk to the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center. Both hotels connect to the Crown Center, a “city within a city” with over 60 shops and restaurants, the Coterie Theater, and the interactive Hallmark Visitors Center. Popular attractions in downtown Kansas City, such as the historic Union Station, the National WWI Museum and Memorial, and the lively Power & Light District, are within walking distance or just a short ride away. The new Museum of BBQ will allow museumgoers to explore the elements of barbecue—meat, rub/spice, wood, fire, smoke, and sauce—and journey through the main American regions of barbecue, including the Carolinas, Memphis, Texas, and, of course, Kansas City.

Hotel Reservations

Participants first need to register for the NetVUE Conference to make a hotel reservation. After registering, participants will receive a confirmation email with detailed instructions and a link to make a reservation at the Sheraton Kansas City. CIC will cover two nights’ lodging for the first three team members’ guest rooms for the conference dates. The registration fee for fourth and fifth team members includes payment for two nights’ lodging at the discounted hotel room rate of $211 single/double per room. Participants are responsible for making their own hotel reservations.

The hotel reservation deadline is Monday, February 23, 2026, 11:59 p.m. (CT). Guest rooms may sell out before the deadline, so participants are encouraged to register for the NetVUE Conference and to reserve their hotel rooms as soon as possible. Please note that hotel reservations made after the deadline can only be accommodated on a space-available basis and may be higher than the CIC rate.

Participants who wish to extend their stay beyond the conference dates may do so at their own expense. A limited number of rooms are available at the conference rate for an extended stay.

Transportation

The Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center is 22 miles from the Kansas City International Airport. The estimated taxi fare is $49 one-way, based on the rate of $2.50 plus $2.10 per mile. Fares may be shared when the originating passenger requests it, and all other passengers agree. Fares are subject to change.

Rental Cars

Several car rental facilities are conveniently located at Kansas City International Airport. There are frequent free shuttles between the terminal and the rental car facility. For the gray bus shuttle service to the rental car facility, follow signs for Ground Transportation and take the elevators, escalators, or stairs to the lower Arrivals area. Step outside and safely use the crosswalk across to the Commercial Curb. Look for the Rental Car Bus Stop. 

Rideshare

Uber, Lyft, and zTrip services are available from the Kansas City International Airport. Please wait until you have retrieved your bags and arrived at the Arrivals curb before booking an app-based ride. For pick-up, please follow the signs down to the Arrivals commercial curb, and look for the purple signposts 2K-N. A limited number of spots are available at the designated ride-share curb, so please wait until you see your vehicle pull into a spot to enter the vehicle.

Shuttle Service

Kansas City offers various shuttle services from the Kansas City International Airport, including Super Shuttle Express. The fare from the airport to the hotel is approximately $41 one way. Click here for additional shuttle service providers.

Metro Bus Service

RideKC operates to and from Kansas City International Airport every day of the week. The regular fare is currently free as of March 2025. View the Kansas City International route map here or search RideKC’s website for Route #229 at the Boardwalk-KCI transfer station.

Hotel Parking (as of April 2025)

Self-parking at the Sheraton Kansas City at Crown Center is discounted at $24 per day, and overnight valet parking is $39 per day. Both rates are exclusive of taxes.

Contact Information

If you have registration questions, contact CIC at (202) 466-7230 or conferences@cic.edu.