Regional events and national conferences are held in alternating years. NetVUE supports regional gatherings and multi-campus collaborations on specific topics. NetVUE member campuses, or a group of campuses, are encouraged to organize and host such gatherings based on issues or themes of interest. These events will build smaller networks among member campuses based on location, affiliation, program offerings, or other points of mutual interest. NetVUE funding from member dues and Lilly Endowment Inc. provides financial support for regional gatherings.
View a summary of the 2017–2018 regional gatherings.
View a summary of the 2019–2020 regional gatherings.
View a summary of the 2021 regional gatherings.
View a summary of past 2022 regional gatherings.
Upcoming Regional and Topical Gatherings
February 23–25, 2023 • University of La Verne • La Verne, CA
creating conditions, dismantling obstacles, empowering students: Vocational exploration and marginalized communities
As educators, we are called to challenge ourselves to think about the conditions that are present in our institutions, and about how these conditions impact our students’ sense of self, their relationships, and their lives. At this NetVUE gathering, participants will explore the various conditions in our institutions which enable (or restrict) students' capacities to thrive and discover their vocation. These conditions include experiencing community, understanding holistic dimensions of wellness, valuing personal narrative and inner voice, demonstrating resilience, employing cultural wealth, and many other conditions yet to be discovered. Keynote speaker Patrick Reyes, author of the NetVUE Big Read volume
The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive, will help participants interrogate conditions and how they may—or may not—allow students to discern and live into lives of meaning, purpose, and empowerment.
April 13–15, 2023 • Wingate University • Wingate, NC
food and vocation
Food is the great connector and a means for exploring vocation in a world emerging from the shadow of COVID. Undergraduate students can form deep roots to feed their sense of purpose and value when they are given the opportunity to explore vocation as an "edible theology" that appreciates the past, present, and future. Keynote speakers for this interactive gathering include Norman Wirzba, professor of theology at Duke University and author of Food and Faith and Agrarian Spirit, and Laura Wright, professor of English at Western Carolina University and author of The Vegan Studies Project. The gathering also showcases learned practitioners from organizations such as RAFI, Waterkeeper Alliance, Stardust Cellars, Native Root, and the Piedmont Culinary Guild. Participants will investigate the implications of food on identity, explore the intersection of hospitality and justice, and engage the metaphor of the divine banquet in many interactive settings. Those who can stay through Saturday will be able to enjoy the Charlotte StrEATs festival, a two-day celebration of chefs and local food.
May 31–June 2, 2023 • Bluffton University • Bluffton, OH
FINDING OURSELVES AT THE CENTER: COLLABORATIVE SPACES FOR PURPOSE, WORK, LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT
Many institutions have established “centers” as integrated spaces that combine areas once considered distinct: career development, academic advising, community engagement, vocational discernment, diversity initiatives, internships, and more. This gathering will examine both the impetus for and the outcomes of such creative realignments. What can be done together—at the “center”—that cannot be done from individually defined locations at the periphery? The gathering will explore models and best practices for involving various constituencies in this enterprise, including faculty members, administrators, program directors, and the local community.