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.
2019–2020 Regional and Topical Gatherings
Preliminary Schedule
Fall Semester 2019 Gatherings
September 20–21, 2019 • Pepperdine University • Malibu, CA
Hearing Vocation Differently
This gathering will provide a venue in which NetVUE campus leaders can discuss the third book in the NetVUE Scholarly Resources series,
Hearing Vocation Differently: Meaning, Purpose, and Identity in the Multi-Faith Academy (2019). Discussions will focus on the book’s implications for leaders of vocational exploration programs in multi-faith environments. Speakers will include David Cunningham, director of NetVUE and the book’s editor, and two contributors to the volume.
October 4–5, 2019 • Geneva College • Beaver Falls, PA
Educating for Citizenship: Vocational Reflection for the Public Good
This event is designed to generate conversations around the reclamation of one of the original purposes of American higher education: the making of citizens. Issues of social justice, civility, plurality and unity, and the common good are important for the cultivation of engaged citizens. This gathering will explore how vocational reflection can provide a framework for educating undergraduate students about citizenship. Speakers will be drawn from area nonprofits and community organizations.
November 15–16, 2019 • Lipscomb University • Nashville, TN
Colleges Can Have Vocations Too
Transforming the mission of a college or university into a saga—a powerful and compelling narrative informed by a unique history—requires a strong sense of institutional vocation in which the college or university has been
called and
summoned to fulfill a special role. This gathering will consider institutional vocational discernment as a means of identifying and developing a saga, with attention to issues of religious heritage, educational philosophy, faculty commitments, and student outcomes. Speakers include Florence Amamoto, Gustavus Adolphus College; David Cunningham, director of NetVUE; Jason Mahn, Augustana College (IL); and Julianne Wallace, Alvernia College.
November 21–22, 2019 • Preceding the AAR/SBL Annual Meeting • San Diego, CA
Vocation, Teaching, and Religious Studies: An AAR/SBL Pre-Meeting
Faculty members and scholars in religious studies will gather to discuss the role played by issues of vocation, meaning, and purpose in the field of religion. Attention will be given to the wide range of faith traditions and life stances that are addressed in the religious studies classroom. Speakers will include contributors to the 2019 books
Interreligious/Interfaith Studies: Defining a New Field and
Hearing Vocation Differently: Meaning, Purpose, and Identity in the Multi-Faith Academy.
Spring Semester and Early Summer 2020 Gatherings
January 16–18, 2020 • Occidental College • Los Angeles, CA
Voices from the Margins: supporting Vocational Reflection with Underserved Students
The goal of this gathering is to explore how vocational exploration might be fostered among students whose identities and circumstances sometimes result in less attention and care from the institutions they attend. These underserved students come from a variety of social locations and identities, including first-generation students, students of color, LGBTQIA+ students, and others. Conversations will seek to identify best practices and innovative ways to foster culturally sensitive vocational exploration among students from marginalized communities.
February 21–22, 2020 • Huntingdon College • Montgomery, AL
Where the Campus Meets the World: Vocation and Post-College Transition
This gathering will explore strategies for faculty and staff members who seek to help students put into practice beyond the classroom and the campus what they learn about vocation in the undergraduate setting. It will include discussions of obstacles that can arise as students pursue their callings after college—including structural and socio-economic factors, disabilities, cross-cultural challenges, and the tendency of some forms of “service” to do more harm than good. The gathering will include a visit to the renowned Legacy Museum and the Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Postponed until spring 2022 • St. Norbert College • De Pere, WI
Engaging Faculty Members in the Work of Vocation
As experience and research have shown, sustaining a commitment to vocation-related efforts on a college campus over time requires the engagement of faculty members, as well as ongoing investments on their part. This gathering will consider strategies for faculty engagement—including past successes, present-day obstacles and opportunities, and fresh ideas for the future. Campuses are encouraged to send teams that include at least one faculty member and at least one professional whose portfolio includes the recruitment of faculty members for these efforts. The keynote speakers will be Paul J. Wadell, professor emeritus of religious studies at St. Norbert College and Darby K. Ray, Donald W. and Ann M. Harward Professor of Civic Engagement and Director, Harward Center for Community Partnerships at Bates College. They are co-directors of the NetVUE faculty seminar on Teaching Vocational Exploration.
Postponed until June 2–4,2021 • 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.
October 22–23, 2020 • Dominican University • River Forest, IL
THE CHANGE A DIFFERENCE MAKES: ENRICHING VOCATION THROUGH RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
The changing demographics of the student body at NetVUE colleges and universities present both challenges and opportunities. In particular, the increasing diversity at these institutions is often noted, but religious diversity rarely receives the level of attention given to other elements of difference. And yet, religious diversity may be one of the most important topics to consider when thinking about vocational exploration and discernment. This NetVUE gathering addresses these questions through substantive workshops that emphasize interactive engagement. These workshops will be framed by plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and a wide range of opportunities for networking and discussion.