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 Participants in
CIC’s inaugural seminars on vocation and mission last month
included (l-r) Saundra Tracy, president of Alma College
(MI); Mary Ellen Jukoski, president of Mitchell College
(CT); Joel Cunningham, president of University of
the South (TN); and spouse Trudy Cunningham.
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Presidents and their spouses,
and prospective presidents and their spouses, explored the ideas of
vocation and mission and what it means to bring them into alignment
during the first two seminars in CIC’s Presidential Vocation and Institutional
Mission program. Eighteen college and university presidents and 13
presidential spouses met on July 25-27 at Airlie House, a retreat
center in the Northern Virginia countryside; a week later, 20 prospective
presidents and 14 spouses met for a similar program. Participants
in both gatherings were enthusiastic in their praise for this new
CIC initiative.
Each seminar included a mix of plenary meetings,
small group discussions, and frequent opportunities for informal conversation,
all guided by a set of texts—literary, historical, theological, spiritual,
and others—about vocation and mission. Issues that came to the fore
included the possibility that “all of the pieces” of a vocation in
the college presidency “may come together in one place but would not
elsewhere,” as one participant put it. In the words of another, there
are instances where what has seemed merely a step in a career “explodes
into vocation” and enriches the president’s appreciation of the role.
Presidents and their spouses examined the role of institutional mission
in framing their work, and contemplated the possibility of having
an institutional saga—something more than just the mission, rooted
in the past, “a meaning maker for the present with an eye on the future.”
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Participants
in the Vocation and Mission Seminar for Prospective Presidents
explored what it means to bring vocation and mission into
alignment. Pictured (l-r) are Ernie and Flo Nolan, Madonna
University (MI); Kathleen and Vernon Miles, Lynchburg
College (VA); Beth Barnett, University of
Scranton (PA); and Judy Muyskens, Colby-Sawyer
College (NH). |
At the conclusion of the seminar, presidents and spouses summarized
what their own next steps would be in seeking to understand better
the alignment of vocation and mission. Marianne E. Inman of Central
Methodist University (MO) said she intended to “dig deeply
into the lore and saga of my institution to create a vibrant future
on campus as well as to enliven my vocation.” Tim Summerlin of Schreiner
University (TX) said he would “integrate meaningfully what
the college is into the work of the whole campus.” Walter Broadnax
of Clark Atlanta University (GA) said, “I aim to
make friendship work better in my sense of vocation.” And Paul Pribbenow
of Rockford College (IL) said his next step will
be to “link relationships, vocation, and mission together in a way
that helps our students be more focused on vocation.”
During the fall, participants will continue
their reflections on vocation and mission with the assistance of the
facilitators who met with them at Airlie House. Both seminar groups
will reconvene in the winter for an additional day of discussion.
In the fall of 2005, CIC will invite applications and nominations
for two new groups of participants in the program to convene in the
summer of 2006. The Presidential Vocation and Institutional Mission
program is supported by a grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.
2005
Vocation and Mission Participants |
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Presidents
Program
James and Ronda Barry,
Mount Marty College (SD)
Walter and Angel Broadnax,
Clark Atlanta University (GA)
Dan and Terri Carey,
Edgewood College (WI)
David and Lois Clark,
Palm Beach Atlantic University (FL)
Joel and Trudy Cunningham,
University of the South (TN)
Gary and Marilyn Dill,
College of the Southwest (NM)
Mary Ann Dillon,
Mount Aloysius College (PA)
Dominic and Lisette Dottavio,
Heidelberg College (OH)
Merrill and Priscilla Ewert,
Fresno Pacific University (CA)
Dennis and Monica Golden,
Fontbonne University (MO)
Dolph and Judy Henry,
Tusculum College (TN)
Marianne Inman,
Central Methodist University (MO)
Mary Ellen Jukoski,
Mitchell College (CT)
James Loughran,
Saint Peter's College (NJ)
Joseph and Maureen McGowan,
Bellarmine University (KY)
Paul and Abigail Pribbenow,
Rockford College (IL)
Tim and Mary Ellen Summerlin,
Schreiner University (TX)
Saundra Tracy, Alma College (MI) |
Prospective
Presidents Program
Dean Adams,
Lindsey Wilson College (KY)
Donna Aronson,
University of the Incarnate Word (TX)
Robin and Ruth Baker,
George Fox University (OR)
Beth Barnett, University of Scranton (PA)
Grant and Peg Cornwell,
St. Lawrence University (NY)
Robert and Mary Lou Entzminger,
Hendrix College (AR)
Timothy and Jacklyn Fulop,
Lakeland College (WI)
Kate Herrick,
Carroll College (WI)
Patrick and Rita Joyce,
Carlow University (PA)
Jerold Meadows,
MacMurray College (IL)
Vernon and Kathleen Miles,
Lynchburg College (VA)
Judy Muyskens and John Herraghty,
Colby-Sawyer College (NH)
Laura Niesen de Abruna and David Long, Heidelberg College (OH)
Ernie and Flo Nolan,
Madonna University (MI)
Susan Pauly and Stephen Dew,
Mount Mercy College (IA)
Suzanne Shipley and Randall Wadsworth, College of Notre Dame
of Maryland
Jay Keith and Jenné Chastain Simmons, LaGrange College
(GA)
Dale Soden,
Whitworth College (WA)
Stephen and Teri Varvis,
Fresno Pacific University (CA)
Cynthia Zane and Stephen Mazurak,
College of Mount St. Joseph (OH)
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Independent
The Council of Independent Colleges
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 320 • Washington, DC 20036
tel: (202) 466-7230 • Fax: (202) 466-7238 • e-mail: cic@cic.nche.edu • www.cic.edu
Last updated: August 2005
Copyright © 2005 The Council of Independent Colleges |
