Celebrations
Congratulations to the 2026 Recipients of Professional Development Awards
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), through its Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), has awarded the Professional Development Award to 46 institutions in the total amount of $972,013, supporting initiatives that develop campus conversations about vocation and deepen the capacity of those who lead vocational exploration efforts at NetVUE member institutions. CIC and NetVUE are grateful for the support of Lilly Endowment Inc., which makes this grant possible. This is the 13th year that this NetVUE grant was awarded, bringing the total to 379 Professional Development Awards granted to member institutions.
“This year’s cohort of Professional Development Award grantees continues in a long tradition of staff and faculty members committed to deep engagement with vocational scholarship and resources as they imagine possibilities for future initiatives on campus,” said Robert Pampel, NetVUE director of member engagement. “Projects this year envision collaborations across departments, among student affairs staff, and across the institution to explore vocational ideas and to build moments for and structures around vocational discernment into the core curriculum, advising frameworks, and career service initiatives. I expect these projects will provide an essential foundation for continued vocation work on NetVUE member campuses, and I am eager to see how these projects come to fruition over the next year.”
NetVUE empowers independent colleges and universities to guide undergraduates in exploring and discerning their many callings in life. This cohort of grant recipients is advancing the conversation about vocation in a variety of ways. Nine institutions included curriculum projects exploring questions of meaning and purpose, while an additional seven institutions focused their curriculum projects on vocation in general education and the first-year experience. Ten institutions proposed initiatives that are centered on professional development using approaches like reading groups, and an additional eleven institutions will utilize approaches such as retreats. The remaining nine institutions submitted proposals focusing on language for vocation on their campus. For more information about each project, visit the NetVUE website. The list of institutions receiving this Professional Development Award in 2026 is included below:
Allegheny College (PA)
Antillean Adventist University (PR)
Arcadia University (PA)
Austin College (TX)
Briar Cliff University (IA)
California Prestige University (CA)
Campbellsville University (KY)
Capital University (OH)
Centenary College of Louisiana (LA)
Central College (IA)
Chatham University (PA)
Chestnut Hill College (PA)
Clarke University (IA)
Concordia College (MN)
Concordia University Wisconsin (WI)
Cornell College (IA)
Covenant College (GA)
Cumberland University (TN)
Dordt University (IA)
Endicott College (MA)
Ferrum College (VA)
Hamline University (MN)
Hampden-Sydney College (VA)
Hesston College (KS)
Husson University (ME)
Juniata College (PA)
Kalamazoo College (MI)
La Roche University (PA)
La Sierra University (CA)
Lindsey Wilson University (KY)
Marquette University (WI)
McKendree University (IL)
Millsaps College (MS)
Morningside University (IA)
Ohio Dominican University (OH)
Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL)
Presbyterian College (SC)
Rider University (NJ)
Rockhurst University (MO)
Rollins College (FL)
St. John Fisher University (NY)
University of Jamestown (ND)
University of St. Thomas (TX)
Vassar College (NY)
Warner Pacific University (OR)
Wiley University (TX)
More about CIC and NetVUE
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is an association of over 600 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils, and 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 provides members with ideas, resources, and programs that help institutions improve their leadership expertise, educational programs, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility.
The Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) is a program of CIC with over 350 members. The purpose of NetVUE is to increase the capacity of independent colleges and universities to support their undergraduate students as they explore and discern their many callings in life. The process of vocational reflection is an interdisciplinary endeavor, bringing together theological, philosophical, ethical, historical, and affective approaches, and implementing the theoretical reflections of these fields in vocation related practices. Campuses are encouraged to support students in this work through a variety of academic departments, pre-professional programs, and campus offices. NetVUE is governed by a principle of subsidiarity: individual member institutions are encouraged to shape their work related to vocation and calling— including the vocabularies that they use to describe this work—in ways that are best suited to their own missions, teaching philosophies, student demographics, and other matters best known to those who lead and guide this work on campus.
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.