NetVUE Conversation Cards
NetVUE has released a series of Conversation Card decks for use with students. Four separate decks invite students to live into their ongoing journeys of vocational reflection. The decks provide prompts for considering academic and career aspirations, engaging the world, and exploring the contours of a well-lived life. Each deck contains questions for students that engage all levels of vocational inquiry, from first-year icebreakers to senior-year capstones. Staff and faculty members will benefit from having rich and compelling questions at the ready for a variety of campus contexts: the classroom, academic and career advising, leadership development, co-curricular settings, and more.
Four decks have been produced. The Explore deck helps students think about who they are and how they are shaped by their lives up to this point. Engage helps students actively discern their callings, connecting to the world around them and reflecting on what they are learning about themselves and others. Envision equips students to consider life after college—reflecting not only on career aspirations, but also on the contours and habits that lead to a flourishing life, both for themselves and for the world. The bilingual Spanish-English Encuentra deck encourages students to consider how their cultural roots shape their sense of identity, purpose, belonging, and community.
Studies in Vocation and Calling – The NetVUE Journal
The NetVUE journal, Studies in Vocation and Calling, is an open-access journal that advances scholarly study and professional practice related to the role of vocation and calling in contemporary culture with special attention to the role of these frameworks in higher education. Published twice per year, the journal is available both digitally and in print. A wide range of contributions are welcome! The submission portal is open, and the second issue of Studies in Vocation and Calling will be released this fall.
NetVUE Webinars
NetVUE hosts a series of webinars on topics related to vocational exploration and discernment. These webinars engage leaders in various fields who share knowledge and best practices in their areas of expertise. Most webinars include practical tips for initiating, developing, or strengthening programming for students and/or professional development for faculty members and staff on NetVUE member campuses. Developing and producing these events is the responsibility of Rachel Pickett, NetVUE Webinar Facilitator. If you have suggestions for future webinars, or for any questions, she can be reached at rpickett@cic.edu.
NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project
NetVUE brings together groups of scholars who represent a wide range of intellectual traditions and who have expertise related to various issues related to vocation and calling. Each seminar group studies a specific topic area and gathers three times over a 14-month period. Each of the groups incorporated theological and philosophical perspectives from many traditions, compared ideas and perspectives that emerged from their common and individual readings, and completed a coordinated writing project over the course of a year.
As a result of this project, four books have been completed thus far (all published by Oxford University Press). These books and related scholarly materials have become important resources for NetVUE member institutions. The most recent volume was published in January 2024; it is titled Called Beyond Our Selves: Vocation and the Common Good, and is edited by Erin VanLaningham, professor of English at Loras College, who serves as the NetVUE director of project development.
The NetVUE Blog
NetVUE sponsors a publicly-accessible blog, Vocation Matters. Posts include original content from leaders at NetVUE institutions, reflections on the nature of vocational reflection, and occasional links to other relevant content on the web. The site is maintained by Geoffrey Bateman, editor; for more information, send an email to gbateman@cic.edu.
Callings: The NetVUE Podcast
NetVUE sponsors a podcast, Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well Lived. These audio offerings explore what it means to live a life defined by a sense of meaning and purpose. They focus on the process of exploring and discerning one’s vocation, with particular emphasis on mentoring and supporting undergraduate students as they navigate the relationships among college, career, faith, and their future directions in life. Callings is co-hosted by John Barton, NetVUE professional development program officer, and Erin VanLaningham, NetVUE director of project development.
NetVUE Online Community Network
A wealth of many NetVUE resources are housed on a separate website, which is available only to those at NetVUE member institutions and requires a login. On this site, NetVUE members have the opportunity to:
- Share documents, audio, and video files;
- View or download video recordings and PowerPoint presentations from NetVUE conferences, gatherings and webinars;
- Browse print and digital resources, including books, movies, and course syllabi; and
- Participate in the NetVUE discussion board.
The site requires members to log in, using the email address that is associated with their CIC account. (You have a CIC account if you have ever registered or applied for any NetVUE opportunity or event, or those of any other CIC program.) The Community Network site includes options for checking to see whether you have an account, and for retrieving your password if you don’t know it. If you are able to log in and are not automatically taken to the NetVUE Community, click the “Communities” tab and see whether NetVUE is listed under “My Communities.” If not, please send an email to Madeline Smanik, NetVUE communications specialist, at msmanik@cic.edu and include your full name, title, and institution. You will be added to the roster of NetVUE community members and will then be notified that you have access to the full site.
NetVUE LinkedIn
Staff and faculty members at NetVUE member institutions are encouraged to make use of social media as a way of staying up-to-date on NetVUE programs and services and connecting with other campus leaders. Our current medium of choice is LinkedIn—here are a couple of ways to make use of this platform:
- Follow NetVUE; or
- Download this image and post it on your LinkedIn to showcase your institution’s NetVUE membership. What was your vocational journey and what has led you to bring vocational education to your students? Share your story and thoughts along with this image!
This page follows the LinkedIn feeds of all NetVUE member institutions, and includes reposts of vocation-related activities from those institutions. It also provides announcements of recent additions to the NetVUE blog, the library of podcasts, and other publicly-available resources.
To report a technical problem with the website, or to offer suggestions for navigation and content issues, please contact Madeline Smanik, NetVUE communications specialist, at msmanik@cic.edu.