CIC Announces Participants in NetVUE Seminars; Awards Grants for Reframing the Institutional Saga

CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) offers a variety of developmental opportunities for educators and leaders at member institutions. Two such opportunities are the seminars titled Teaching Vocational Exploration and Leading Vocational Exploration, both of which have selected this year’s participants (based on nominations from chief academic officers at NetVUE institutions).

The Teaching Vocational Exploration Seminar is for full-time faculty members in any field at member colleges and universities. Facilitated by Paul J. Wadell and Darby Kathleen Ray, the seminar will explore a variety of perspectives on vocation and its importance in undergraduate education. It will also provide opportunities for participants to develop new courses (or revise existing ones) to include greater attention to issues of meaning, purpose, and identity. Perhaps most significantly, the seminar provides a network of fellow faculty members who are interested in bringing vocational exploration into the undergraduate classroom. Address questions regarding the seminar to David S. Cunningham, executive director of NetVUE, at (616) 632-1060 or dcunningham@cic.edu.

The Leading Vocational Exploration Seminar, led by Rachael Baker and Erin VanLaningham, will provide space for former participants in the annual seminar (described above) to create and conduct their own seminars at their respective institutions—again focusing on introducing vocational exploration into the classroom context. Participants will be given time, resources, recommendations, and feedback from the seminar leaders and fellow participants during the seminar. They are then expected to lead the seminar (adapted to their institution’s context) on their campus during the 2024–2025 academic year or the following summer. Questions regarding the seminar can be directed to Rachael Baker, NetVUE director of professional development, at rbaker@cic.edu.

Both seminars are made possible through the generosity of Lilly Endowment Inc., which also provides funding to CIC for a series of NetVUE grant programs. One such program, Grants for Reframing the Institutional Saga, has provided funding for two-year awards of up to $40,000 to 62 member institutions over the past three years. This year, an additional 15 NetVUE institutions received awards. The program’s aim is to empower institutions to produce an updated account of their heritage, religious tradition, founding educator, or specific education philosophy, with attention to changes that have occurred over time and that shape their current context. These changes might include their demographic composition, pioneering programs, or relationship to the wider community, all of which can influence the institution in terms of its faculty makeup, curricular structure, and student recruitment and retention. These changes can be better understood if they can be thoughtfully considered in light of an institution’s past, present, and future missions and vocations.

Two years are allotted for the use of the $40,000 grant, at the end of which the institution is expected to have created at least one enduring product. Examples of such end-products include, but are not limited to, books, permanent exhibits or installations (with a detailed catalogue), or other material and substantial testimonies of campus-wide conversation, analysis, refinement, and results. For questions about this program, contact Carter Aikin, NetVUE grants director, at caikin@cic.edu or (217) 854-5619. CIC is pleased to offer NetVUE membership to any institution that is eligible for CIC membership. For information on joining the network, please contact Lynne Spoelhof, director of NetVUE operations, at lspoelhof@cic.edu or (616) 632-1060.

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Institutions with Faculty Participants in the 2024 NetVUE Seminar, Teaching Vocational Exploration

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Institutions with Faculty Participants in the 2024 NetVUE Seminar, Leading Vocational Exploration

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Recipients of the 2024 Grants for Reframing the Institutional Saga