About NetVUE

David Cunningham is the executive director of NetVUE. In this role, he oversees and guides NetVUE staff and the activities for which they are responsible, working with both the CIC staff and the NetVUE Advisory Council from the NetVUE office based at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Previously he served as director of the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project, overseeing the development and editing of three books published by Oxford University Press. David is also the editor of two additional volumes and the author of five books. He holds a faculty appointment as professor of theology at Aquinas College; his research focuses on Christian theology and ethics and their relationship to rhetoric and drama. David previously served on the faculty at Hope College, where he was director of the CrossRoads Project, Hope’s Lilly-funded Program for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (PTEV), and on the faculties of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and the University of St. Thomas (MN). He holds a BSS in communication studies from Northwestern University, a BA and MA in theology and religious studies from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in religion from Duke University.

David can be reached by email at david.cunningham@cic.edu or by phone at (616) 632-1060.

Rachael Baker serves as associate director of NetVUE. In this full-time role, she leads a wide range of initiatives designed to help member institutions implement vocation-informed programs and practices for faculty members, staff, and students. Among other projects, she leads NetVUE’s efforts to provide faculty and staff development opportunities for member institutions, as well as assistance with the assessment of their grant-funded projects. She also holds a faculty appointment as associate professor of chemistry at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rachael was a participant in the 2021 NetVUE Teaching Vocational Exploration seminar, which encouraged her to develop curriculum to engage students with virtue practices in courses across their programs, helping students engage thoughtfully in communities and teams. Rachael holds a BS in biochemistry from Calvin University and a PhD in biochemistry and biophysics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Rachael can be reached at rbaker@cic.edu or (616) 632-2176.

Lynne Spoelhof serves as NetVUE’s director of operations. In this role, she supports all NetVUE programs and initiatives, coordinates the work of the NetVUE staff, maintains regular contact with member campuses, plans programs and conferences, manages information and databases, and provides executive assistance to the director of NetVUE. She is the primary contact person for the NetVUE office based at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, working with CIC staff based in Washington, DC, and with NetVUE staff based at various campuses across the country. She has served NetVUE since its inception in 2009, first as an administrative assistant to founding director Shirley Roels, then program coordinator in 2013, program manager in 2020, and was recently promoted to director of NetVUE operations. Prior to her current responsibilities, Lynne served as an elementary teacher for a number of years and developed her office management skills in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Lynne has an undergraduate degree in elementary education, communication arts and sciences, and English from Calvin College (now University).

Lynne can be reached by email at lspoelhof@cic.edu or by phone at (616) 632-1060.

Nick Adams serves as the NetVUE scriptural reasoning director. In this role, he coordinates NetVUE’s Scriptural Reasoning For Vocational Reflection program. This initiative builds capacity in NetVUE institutions to enable faculty members and staff to host interreligious engagement study groups for undergraduate students. As well as running the Scriptural Reasoning hubs in May and June, Nick supports institutions developing the practice of Scriptural Reasoning as a tool for exploring vocation. Nick has since 2015 held a faculty position as Professor of Philosophical Theology at the University of Birmingham, England, where his teaching and research includes a focus on the practice and theory of Scriptural Reasoning. He has a life-long interest in experiments in pedagogy, and his practice in this area is also shaped by the small-group work developed in Scriptural Reasoning. Nick holds a BA and PhD in Theology from the University of Cambridge.

Nick can be reached by email at nadams@cic.edu.

Carter Aikin serves as the NetVUE grants director. He has primary responsibility for administering CIC’s wide array of NetVUE grant programs, working on a three-quarter-time basis from Blackburn College in Carlinsville, Illinois, where he has served as professor and chair of philosophy and religion since 2014. He has led vocational initiatives at three different NetVUE member institutions across his teaching career. Carter also served as a NetVUE campus consultant from 2010 until 2023, specializing in helping institutions to develop interdisciplinary vocational exploration initiatives with a focus on curriculum development—a passion reflected in his own classroom instruction. He holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an MDiv from Duke University Divinity School, and a PhD in Moral Theology from the University of Notre Dame.

Carter can be reached by email at caikin@cic.edu or by phone at (217) 854-5619.

John Barton is co-host of the NetVUE podcast, Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well Lived. He serves as director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Pepperdine University, where he also has faculty appointments in the religion and philosophy division, the university’s graduate program in social entrepreneurship, and the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Caruso School of Law. John’s areas of research and teaching include African philosophy, Christian and interreligious studies, and faith and philanthropy. He is the author of Better Religion: A Primer for Interreligious Peacebuilding (Baylor, 2022). He holds a BA from Harding University and a PhD from Makerere University in Uganda.

John can be reached at jbarton@cic.edu or (310) 506-4923.

Geoffrey Bateman is the editor of Vocation Matters, NetVUE’s blog. In this part-time role, he oversees all facets of the blog, recruiting and coordinating writers, editing the work, as well as writing the occasional post himself. He works from Regis University in Denver, Colorado, where he is professor of peace and justice studies, and teaches courses on a range of social justice issues, including queer vocations, sexual citizenship, nonviolent resistance, gender and homelessness, and research and writing in the community. He also serves as one of the faculty co-advisors for the Queer Student Alliance and co-chairs the university’s Queer Resource Alliance. In 2017, he participated in the inaugural NetVUE faculty seminar on Teaching Vocational Exploration. He is also a NetVUE Scholar, and his essay, “Queer Vocation and the Common Good,” appears in the fourth volume of the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project, Called Beyond Ourselves: Vocation and the Common Good (Oxford, 2024). He also contributed “Queer Callings: LGBTQ Literature and Vocation” to Cultivating Vocation in Literary Studies (Edinburgh, 2022). All of Geoffrey’s degrees are in English. He earned his BA from the University of Puget Sound, MA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Geoffrey can be reached at gbateman@cic.edu or (303) 964-6531.

Krista E. Hughes is NetVUE’s director of resource development. In this role, she is responsible for the development of new print and digital resources for use throughout the NetVUE membership, such as the NetVUE conversation cards. She is particularly interested in how institutional vocations can contribute to the vocational formation of not only students but staff and faculty, and in the communal dimensions of vocation, including the call to equity, inclusion, and belonging. Krista teaches in the religious studies department at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Krista previously served as founding director of the Muller Center for Exploration & Engagement at Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina, where she was also associate professor of religion. She holds a BA in Spanish & humanities from Wofford College, an MA in history and an MDiv from Vanderbilt University, and a PhD in theological & philosophical studies from Drew University.

Krista can be reached at khughes@cic.edu or (864) 597-4507.

Maeve King joined CIC in 2024 and is the projects coordinator. In this role, she supports a variety of CIC networks, projects, and programs, including CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). Before joining CIC, she worked as a case manager in housing and homeless services and served as an English teaching assistant in Uruguay through the Fulbright Program. King graduated from West Chester University (PA) with a triple major in political science, Spanish, and German and a minor in Latin American and Latinx studies.

Maeve can be reached at mking@cic.edu or (202) 552-8965.

Kari Kloos serves as a grant program officer for NetVUE, with primary responsibility for the new individual grants program. Her home institution is Regis University in Denver, Colorado, where she holds a faculty position as professor of religious studies and currently also serves as interim vice president for mission. Prior to joining Regis, she held a Lilly Postdoctoral Fellowship at Valparaiso University. Her teaching and scholarly interests in vocation focus on discernment, especially in Ignatian spirituality, as well as the connections between the interior dimensions of vocation and the common good. She is also the general editor of Jesuit Higher Education, an online, open access journal on higher education in the Jesuit tradition. She holds a BA from St. Olaf College, and an MA and PhD in theology from the University of Notre Dame.

Kari can be reached at kkloos@cic.edu or at (303) 964-5733.

Daniel Meyers is the NetVUE online network coordinator. This part-time position includes managing the library and discussion board for the NetVUE Online Community (available to faculty and staff members at NetVUE member colleges and universities), as well as editing the NetVUE newsletter. He works from the campus of Butler University, where he directs the university’s Center for Faith and Vocation. In this role he facilitates vocational reflection; supports religious, spiritual, and secular life on campus; promotes interfaith engagement; and serves as an advocate for wellness resources. Daniel previously served as the inaugural Earl Hall Religious Life Fellow for the office of the university chaplain at Columbia University and has been working in university chaplaincy and interfaith contexts since 2012. He holds a BA from Willamette University and an MDiv from Yale Divinity School.

Daniel can be reached at dmeyers@cic.edu or (646) 322-9563.

Robert Pampel serves as a grant program officer for NetVUE. In this capacity, he advises campus teams on grant applications and coaches approved initiatives through to completion. His home institution is Washington University in St. Louis, where he works for its College of Arts & Sciences as associate dean and director of student academic affairs. Robert contributed to NetVUE’s fourth scholarly resources volume, Called Beyond Ourselves, focusing on college campuses as distinctive locations to locate and advance the common good. In his former role as director of a university honors program at a Jesuit university, he published on the connections among honors education, Ignatian pedagogy, and vocation. Robert holds a BA in English and Humanities from Valparaiso University, a MA in International Relations from Webster University, and both a PhD in Higher Education Administration and an MBA from Saint Louis University.

Robert can be reached via email at rpampel@cic.edu or 314-935-8548.

Rachel Pickett is the NetVUE webinar coordinator. This part-time position includes developing, promoting, and managing NetVUE webinars on various topics throughout the year, as well as hosting informal gathering for NetVUE leaders from time to time. Rachel holds a faculty position as professor of psychology and department chair at Concordia University Wisconsin, where her academic interests include college student development and the role of vocational discernment. She is also a licensed psychologist. Rachel participated in the NetVUE faculty seminar on Teaching Vocation Exploration in 2017 and has contributed to the Vocation Matters blog. She completed her BA at Clarke University and her MA and PhD degrees in counseling psychology from Southern Illinois University–Carbondale.

Rachel can be reached at rpickett@cic.edu or (262) 243-4586.

Alex Stephenson is the NetVUE communications coordinator. In this full-time role, she assists with coordinating internal and external communications, designing and creating graphic materials, and managing NetVUE’s social media and website content. Alex holds a BS in Biology and Philosophy from Calvin University and a MA in Early Human Prehistory from the University of York.

Alex can be reached by email at astephenson@cic.edu or by phone at (616) 632-1057.

Erin VanLaningham serves as director of project development for NetVUE. In this part-time role, she directs the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project, recruiting contributors for future NetVUE publications, facilitating the seminars through which they develop their contributions, and editing their work for publication. She also co-hosts the NetVUE podcast, Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well Lived, and she serves as book and resource review editor for the NetVUE journal, Studies in Vocation and Calling. At her home institution—Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa—she serves as professor of English and special assistant to the president. Erin participated in the inaugural NetVUE faculty seminar on Teaching Vocational Exploration in 2017, subsequently adapting and leading a similar seminar at her own institution through a NetVUE professional development grant. In addition to editing the latest NetVUE volume Called Beyond Our Selves: Vocation and the Common Good (Oxford, 2024), she co-edited and contributed to Cultivating Vocation in Literary Studies (Edinburgh, 2022). Erin holds a BA from Luther College, an MA from Northeastern University, and a PhD from Saint Louis University, all in English.

Erin can be reached by email at evanlaningham@cic.edu or by phone at (563) 588-7200.

Jane Walters joined the CIC staff in 2023 and is the manager of NetVUE grants and membership. In this role, she supports the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) through the planning, implementation, and assessment of grants and membership renewal. She initially served as a projects coordinator supporting a variety of CIC’s academic programs. Prior to joining CIC, she worked as an events coordinator for the children and teens department at Politics and Prose Bookstore. Walters received a bachelor’s degree in Greek and Roman Studies from Rhodes College in 2019 and a master’s degree in fine and decorative arts and design from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.

Jane can be reached by email at jwalters@cic.edu or by phone at (202) 978-2099.

Ashley Woodbeck is the NetVUE office manager. In this full-time role, she supports the staff at the NetVUE national office at Aquinas College, handling a range of administrative tasks. Before joining the NetVUE team, Ashley served in an administrative role at Catholic Charities West Michigan and spent several years as a stay-at-home mom while beginning her family. Ashley holds a BA in English from Aquinas College. 

She can be reached by email at awoodbeck@cic.edu or by phone at (616) 632-1060.