The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) is pleased to continue offering summer seminar for full-time staff in all campus offices and divisions at colleges and universities that are members of CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). Vocation Across Campus: Supporting Students’ Search for Meaning is designed for staff who direct campus programs or serve in other long-term administrative capacities, but who do not also hold faculty appointments.
The 5-day seminar will take place June 22–26, 2026; nominations are due November 21, 2025. All participant expenses are paid, including a generous travel reimbursement. Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about vocation and its importance for undergraduate students, to develop or revise programming or initiatives to support vocational exploration, and to cultivate a broader network of colleagues committed to supporting students’ work in this area.
Thanks to a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., CIC will cover most costs of participation for those faculty members who are selected.
Scroll down for more information; alternatively, you can download this two-page flyer about the 2026 Seminar, which can be printed or forwarded to interested staff members.
CIC also offers three other NetVUE summer seminars, each of which is described on a separate webpage:
For early- to mid-career faculty whose primary interest is in incorporating vocational exploration into their classroom teaching.
For faculty members and staff who are considering ways of contributing to the wider national conversation about vocation and calling.
For faculty members and staff who have taken on administrative roles (associate deans, assistant provosts, and the like) and who would like to explore campus-wide projects that encourage vocational exploration.
One of the most promising ways that staff can serve their students is to guide them into an exploration of their many callings in life. Staff who are committed to supporting students’ vocational exploration and discernment can help them discover what might constitute a truly good, meaningful, and purposeful life—one that would lead to flourishing for themselves and others. Staff who are engaged in these efforts may find that their own understanding of the privileges and responsibilities of their own institutional position may be expanded, deepened, and enriched.
Participating staff members will have the opportunity to strengthen their engagement with vocational exploration and discernment through three specific emphases of the seminar:
- Reflecting on their personal vocational journeys and the ways their experiences shape their work with undergraduate students;
- Exploring a variety of language and frameworks for vocation, considering how these might align with the mission and contours of their institutions and how their own office’s programs and initiatives might foster deeper vocational exploration; and
- Designing new or revised programming and initiatives for students that incorporate vocational exploration and discernment.
Discussions and case studies will also focus on understanding the characteristics of emerging adults, and considering how social, cultural, and institutional dynamics both facilitate and hinder exploring and living out one’s vocation. The seminar also includes substantial dedicated social time, designed to help form a cohort of mutual support. Participants will be expected, in the academic year following the seminar, to develop or revise programming or initiatives to add a deeper focus on vocational exploration.
Staff members must be nominated for this opportunity by a cabinet member in whose division the nominee works. The nominator’s letter must include an affirmation that the staff member will be released from all campus obligations during the week-long seminar and will not be required to take annual leave or otherwise compensate the institution for this absence.
The nominee will be asked to include a brief resume, a statement indicating their interest in the seminar, and a description of the the work in their current position description they would like to adapt or further develop from a vocation perspective through participation in the seminar.
Seminar Leaders
Julie Massey most recently served as the Chief of Staff at St. Norbert College. Her previous roles included staff positions in ministry, mission, and student affairs. She directed St. Norbert’s Lilly-funded vocation exploration program for over a decade, has served as a NetVUE consultant, and is a current member of the NetVUE Advisory Council. She holds an MDiv from Loyola University Chicago and an Executive EdD in higher education from Boston College. After decades of working alongside ministry and student affairs colleagues, she deeply respects the contributions made by staff in higher education and looks forward to the good work (and fun) that are sure to be part of this seminar.
Richard Sévère is Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Valparaiso University. He also led the implementation of the Bloom Scholars Program, the University’s permanent four-year bridge program, which is designed to prepare a cohort of newly admitted first-year, historically-excluded students for life at college and beyond—with attention to their academic, social, and cultural development. In addition to his administrative duties, Richard is a NetVUE Faculty Fellow, has led workshops on vocation at other university campuses, and has appeared on NetVUE’s Callings podcast. Richard is passionate about mentoring and is excited to co-lead this inaugural seminar for the dedicated staff at NetVUE colleges and universities who play a central role in helping students search for meaning and explore their many callings in life.
Current Status
The seminar will take place June 22–26, 2026 at the Central Station Hotel in Memphis, TN. Nominations for the 2026 NetVUE Staff Seminar are now open; nominations are due November 21, 2025. NetVUE member colleges and universities may nominate one full-time staff member—in any division—at the assistant director or director level or the equivalent. Nominators must affirm that the staff member will be fully released from regular campus duties during the week of the seminar. Please note: staff who also hold a regular faculty appointment are not eligible to be nominated. They are instead encouraged to seek nomination for NetVUE’s Faculty Development Seminar. Selected participants will be notified in January 2026.
Nomination Details
Each nomination should include the completed nomination form, and the following three items, uploaded as a single document:
- Nomination letter from a cabinet member in whose division the nominee works that emphasizes the nominee’s qualifications, the nominee’s commitment to the institution’s mission, and the opportunities the nominee will have to bring insights about vocational exploration back to the home campus. The nomination letter should also include an affirmation that the staff member will be released from all campus obligations during the week-long seminar and will not be required to take annual leave or otherwise compensate the institution for this absence;
- Nominee’s résumé; and
- Nominee’s statement (no more than two pages) indicating reasons for wishing to participate in the seminar, their current understanding of and experience with vocational exploration, and the anticipated results for the nominee’s work on the campus and with students. Note: the nominee’s statement must include a tentative description of the work in their current position description they would like to adapt or further develop from a vocation perspective through participation in the seminar. The description should also include a brief summary of resources they, at this time, anticipate needing to bring their vision to life.
Nomination Deadline: November 21, 2025
Selection of Participants Announced: January 2026
Location and Expenses
The seminar will take place June 22–26, 2026 at the Central Station Hotel in Memphis, TN. Thanks to generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc., CIC will cover most seminar costs, including materials, lodging, and meals, and will provide a travel reimbursement of up to $800 per participant.
Contact Information
For questions about the seminar or the nomination process, contact Rachael Baker, NetVUE director of professional development, at (616) 526-7939 or rbaker@cic.edu.
About NetVUE
Learn more about NetVUE, including the array of programs and services that are available to member institutions.
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.