NetVUE Conversation Cards
NetVUE is releasing a series of Conversation Card decks for use with students. Three separate decks invite students to live into their ongoing journeys of vocational reflection. The decks provide prompts for considering academic and career aspirations, engaging the world, and exploring the contours of a well-lived life. Each deck contains questions for students that engage all levels of vocational inquiry, from first-year icebreakers to senior-year capstones. Staff and faculty members will benefit from having rich and compelling questions at the ready for a variety of campus contexts: the classroom, academic and career advising, leadership development, co-curricular settings, and more.
Three decks are being produced. The Explore deck will help students think about who they are and how they are shaped by their lives up to this point. It will be distributed in March to participants in the 2024 NetVUE National Conference in Atlanta.
Two additional decks will be produced over the next year; member campuses will receive these as they become available. Engage will help students actively discern their callings, connecting to the world around them and reflecting on what they are learning about themselves and others. Envision will equip students to consider life after college—reflecting not only on career aspirations, but also on the contours and habits that lead to a flourishing life, both for themselves and for the world.
NetVUE Online Community Network
A wealth of many NetVUE resources are housed on a separate website, which is available only to those at NetVUE member institutions and requires a login. On this site, NetVUE members have the opportunity to:
- Share documents, audio, and video files;
- View or download video recordings and PowerPoint presentations from NetVUE conferences and gatherings;
- Browse print and digital resources, including books, movies, and course syllabi; and
- Participate in the NetVUE discussion board.
The site requires members to log in, using the email address that is associated with their CIC account. (You have a CIC account if you have ever registered or applied for any NetVUE opportunity or event, or those of any other CIC program.) The Community Network site includes options for checking to see whether you have an account, and for retrieving your password if you don’t know it. If you are able to log in and are not automatically taken to the NetVUE Community, click the “Communities” tab and see whether NetVUE is listed under “My Communities.” If not, please send an email to astephenson@cic.edu and include your full name, title, and institution. You will be added to the roster of NetVUE community members and will then be notified that you have access to the full site.
NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project
NetVUE brings together groups of scholars who represent a wide range of intellectual traditions and who have expertise related to various issues related to vocation and calling. Each seminar group studies a specific topic area and gathers three times over a 14-month period. Each of the groups incorporated theological and philosophical perspectives from many traditions, compared ideas and perspectives that emerged from their common and individual readings, and completed a coordinated writing project over the course of a year.
As a result of this project, four books have been completed thus far (all published by Oxford University Press). These books and related scholarly materials have become important resources for NetVUE member institutions. The most recent volume was published in January 2024; it is titled Called Beyond Our Selves: Vocation and the Common Good, and is edited by Erin VanLaningham, professor of English at Loras College, who serves as director of the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project.
The NetVUE Blog at vocationmatters.org
NetVUE sponsors a publicly-accessible blog, Vocation Matters. Posts include original content from leaders at NetVUE institutions, reflections on the nature of vocational reflection, and occasional links to other relevant content on the web. The site is maintained by Stephanie Johnson, editor; for more information, send an email to sjohnson@cic.edu.
Callings: The NetVUE Podcast
NetVUE sponsors a podcast, Callings: Conversations on College, Career, and a Life Well Lived. These audio offerings explore what it means to live a life defined by a sense of meaning and purpose. They focus on the process of exploring and discerning one’s vocation, with particular emphasis on mentoring and supporting undergraduate students as they navigate the relationships among college, career, faith, and their future directions in life. “Callings” is co-hosted by John Barton and Erin VanLaningham, who also is director of the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project.
NetVUE Webinars
NetVUE hosts a series of webinars on topics related to vocational exploration and discernment. These webinars engage leaders in various fields who share knowledge and best practices in their areas of expertise. Most webinars include practical tips for initiating, developing, or strengthening programming for students and/or professional development for faculty members and staff on NetVUE member campuses. Developing and producing these events is the responsibility of Rachel Pickett, NetVUE Webinar Facilitator. If you have suggestions for future webinars, or for any questions, she can be reached at rpickett@cic.edu.
Click on the button below to be taken to a list of all webinars that have been offered. Most webinars are recorded; the listing provides to those recordings, which are available through the NetVUE Online Network Community Site. That site requires a login; for additional information on accessing the site, follow this link.
NetVUE Electronic Resources and Links
NetVUE offers a collection of resources to support the exploration of vocation in undergraduate education. These include a publicly-accessible blog and podcast, a wide range of webinars and workshops for members, and the NetVUE Community Network site, which includes a library of relevant books, course syllabi, audio-visual material, and materials from national and regional conferences.
NetVUE LinkedIn
Staff and faculty members at NetVUE member institutions are encouraged to make use of social media as a way of staying up-to-date on NetVUE programs and services and connecting with other campus leaders. Our current medium of choice is LinkedIn, where NetVUE maintains both a “showcase” page and a private group. There are three ways to make use of LinkedIn:
- Follow the NetVUE showcase page;
- Join the (private) NetVUE Group; and/or
- Download this image and post it on your LinkedIn to showcase your institution’s NetVUE membership. What was your vocational journey and what has led you to bring vocational education to your students? Share your story and thoughts along with this image!
Since the private group will be available only to those at NetVUE member institutions, it will be used primarily for announcements about resources and events that are only available to members. The showcase page will follow the LinkedIn feeds of all NetVUE member institutions, and will include reposts of vocation-related activities from those institutions. It will also provide announcements of recent additions to the NetVUE blog, the library of podcasts, and other publicly-available resources.
