Over the past few months, a significant number of NetVUE institutions have hosted focused consultations on their campuses to strategize about vocation-related work. NetVUE’s November webinar explored the benefits of working with peer experts and the creative ideas, objective perspectives, and professional validation they offer. On November 18, the featured speakers discussed their experiences and strategies on how to make the most out of focused consultations to enhance vocation programming.
Deirdre Egan-Ryan is professor of English, director of academic service-learning, and co-director of faculty development at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. She is committed to the integration of vocation exploration in teaching as well as faculty development programming. Her publications include the edited volume Modernist Women Writers and American Social Engagement. In conversation with Sheila Bauer-Gatsos, Egan-Ryan talked about their experience serving as consultants for each other’s programs. Their efforts tackled not only curriculum and advising in the English major, but also faculty development and morale building. Sheila Bauer-Gatsos is associate professor of English, department chair, and director of core curriculum at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois. Her area of expertise is nineteenth-century literature.
Cyndi Grobmeier of Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois, is director of faculty development. As a faculty lecturer and communication program coordinator, she strives to influence students’ lives in positive ways by engaging them in a learner-centered environment that helps them develop their communication knowledge and skills. She shared large-scale professional development efforts educating faculty on the topic of vocation and engaging in a common read of Patrick Reyes’s The Purpose Gap.
Finally, Jonathan Redding of Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, Nebraska, discussed streamlining vocational efforts across programs, which included crafting mission statements, creating advising templates, and fostering intentional reflection. He is associate professor of religion. His areas of expertise include the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation.
The concluding 30 minutes of the webinar were dedicated to questions from participants, who asked about how the speakers used focused consultations to build programming. Several other NetVUE consultants were also on hand to share additional insights. The webinar also provided related resources, including episodes from NetVUE’s podcast Callings: “Stories and Ideologies: Jason Blakely,” and “Learning to Disagree: John Inazu”; and posts from NetVUE’s blog, Vocation Matters: “The Meaning of Dinosaurs: Embedding Vocation in the Major,” and “Experiential Learning is the New College.”
The webinar was recorded and can be accessed through the NetVUE Online Community Network, to which all staff and faculty members at NetVUE institutions have access. Click here for more information about NetVUE membership. To learn more about bringing a consultant to your campus, click here.
Rachel F. Pickett is the webinar coordinator for NetVUE.
