CIC is pleased to announce the inauguration of a new discipline-specific seminar, Religion/Theology/Vocation, for faculty members in the field of theology and/or religious studies at colleges and universities that are NetVUE members. If you know a faculty member in these areas that would be interested, please consider encouraging them to apply. The application deadline for this seminar is Friday, January 16, 2026.
Over the past twenty years, the concepts of vocation and calling have become increasingly important across higher education in the United States. In college classrooms, more and more faculty members are encouraging students to think of themselves as “called” or “summoned” to use their intellect and abilities to have an impact on the world by doing good. In the wider literature of the academy, scholars are probing the significance of vocational exploration and discernment as a region of study, both within their own academic fields and in interdisciplinary settings. A new scholarly impulse has focused on questions as to what might constitute a truly good, meaningful, and flourishing life, and how those who live such lives might improve the well-being of others and of themselves. Over the past decade, CIC has sought to support these scholarly efforts through its NetVUE program, and particularly through interdisciplinary seminars on teaching and scholarship. Now, for the first time, CIC will offer seminars focused on particular disciplines, beginning with an offering for scholars in theology and religious studies.
The seminar is intended for full-time faculty members at all levels. Participants will examine the interrelationship of the study of vocation and calling with the academic fields of theology and religious studies, exploring implications for research, teaching, and service to the institution. They will probe a variety of understandings of vocation and calling, focusing on the importance of these concepts in undergraduate education. The goal of the seminar is to provide participants with a deeper understanding of the relationship of vocation to higher education, to support their investigations of the uses and disadvantages of these concepts within theology and religious studies, and to establish a broader network of faculty members committed to exploring vocation and calling as an area of scholarship within their discipline.
NetVUE’s Religion/Theology/Vocation Seminar will take place August 3–7, 2026, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thanks to the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc., there is no cost for the seminar; selected participants will be provided with accommodations, meals, and NetVUE’s traditional hospitality, as well as a generous travel reimbursement. The seminar will be co-facilitated by Niki Johnson of the University of Mount Union (OH) and Jason Mahn of Augustana College (IL).
Seminar participants will be selected through competitive application. For complete details and application information, follow this link to the NetVUE website. For questions not answered there, contact Rachael Baker, NetVUE associate director, at (616) 632-1060 or rbaker@cic.edu.
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