February 2024 – Washington, DC
In November 2023, the Council of Independent Colleges received a grant of $500,000 from Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant will support an ambitious communications capacity-building project, “Telling the Story of Vocational Exploration in Independent Higher Education,” that highlights CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) and the network’s growth and positive impact. NetVUE is a nationwide network of over 300 colleges and universities formed to support undergraduate students as they explore and discern their many callings in life—bringing together theological, philosophical, ethical, historical, and affective approaches, and helping institutions embed these theoretical reflections into vocation-related practices and programs. A program of the Council of Independent Colleges, NetVUE is supported by the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc. and member dues.
This grant will be used over a five-year period to increase awareness of NetVUE services and participation in its programs; to increase the capacity of member institutions to narrate the successes of their own vocation-related programming; and to make the benefits of vocational exploration programs more visible, both within member institutions and in the broader cultural conversation about the value of higher education.
“NetVUE’s growth over the past decade has built an impressive body of work on vocational exploration at independent colleges and universities. But that growth has also highlighted the need for a more intentional approach to communication, both with and among member institutions,” said David Cunningham, executive director of NetVUE. “These institutions approach vocation through a variety of channels, drawing insights from a wide range of theological and philosophical traditions; hence, they profit greatly from opportunities to exchange perspectives with one another. This generous grant from Lilly Endowment will help NetVUE amplify its members’ achievements and their programs for students, as well as encourage their participation in programs designed to support their students as they explore their callings.”
Funding from this grant will be used in three areas. The first will showcase stories of success in member programming, including the development of additional channels for distributing these stories. A second area is a significant enhancement of NetVUE’s video production and distribution capacity so that it may produce engaging videos for the CIC website, campus constituencies, and social media. The third area will enhance staff support and broaden staff expertise to better serve NetVUE members and CIC.
Anticipated outcomes of this project include a greater awareness of NetVUE programs and services among leaders; wider distribution of success stories from member campuses through text, image, and video; and an increased awareness of the difference it makes when undergraduates explore and discern their many callings in life.
About NetVUE and CIC
The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) was established in 2009 with support from Lilly Endowment Inc., following the success of the Endowment’s earlier initiative, Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation. NetVUE efforts promote vocational reflection in the curriculum, co-curricular activities, and overall culture of independent higher education. It encourages attention to the “big questions” that undergraduate students face, including issues of meaning, purpose, identity, and faith. The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of more than 700 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help independent institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility. It conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers in the United States. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion, and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities. The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.