Celebrations
Congratulations to the 2026 Vocation Across Campus Seminar Participants
The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), through its Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), has selected 20 individuals through a competitive nomination process to participate in the 2026 summer seminar on Vocation Across Campus: Supporting Students’ Search for Meaning. CIC and NetVUE are grateful for the support of Lilly Endowment Inc., which makes this event possible. The seminar is for full-time staff members, who gather to learn about vocation and its importance for undergraduate students, to develop or revise programming to support vocational exploration, and to cultivate a broader network of colleagues committed to supporting students’ work in this area. Participants in the 2026 Vocation Across Campus seminar will gather from June 22-26 at the Central Station Hotel in Memphis, TN.
Participants will spend time reflecting on their personal vocational journeys, exploring a variety of language and frameworks for vocation, and designing new or revised programming and initiatives for students that incorporate vocational exploration and discernment. They will be led in conversation and reflection by Julie Massey, most recently the chief of staff at St. Norbert College, and Richard Sévère, dean of the college of humanities, education and social sciences at Purdue University Northwest. For more information about this and other seminars, visit the NetVUE website.
The following individuals were nominated by the cabinet level supervisor at their institution and selected for the 2026 Vocation Across Campus seminar:
Sarah Begley, Campbellsville University (KY)
Cyndi Boertje, Central College (IA)
Haley Bray, Blackburn College (IL)
Jamila Chambers, Occidental College (CA)
Jocelyn Chavous, Messiah University (PA)
Analisa Defiesta, Tabor College (KS)
John Lenschow, AdventHealth University (FL)
Allen Linton, Associated Colleges of the Midwest (IL)
Chas Lystad, Concordia College (MN)
Leigh Mascolino, Ohio Wesleyan University (OH)
Brooke O’Brien, Azusa Pacific University (CA)
Claire Brakel Packer, Augustana College (IL)
Anissa Radford, Georgetown College (KY)
Taelyn Reid, Warren Wilson College (NC)
Paul Spradley, La Roche University (PA)
Jessica Sweitzer, Centre College (KY)
Tina Tao, St. Lawrence University (NY)
Mary Toso, Augustana University (SD)
Amy Westra, Dordt University (IA)
Elizabeth Wilson, Sewanee: The University of the South (TN)
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 Alex Stephenson, NetVUE communications coordinator, at astephenson@cic.edu.