In late February, Bryn Athyn College was awarded a coveted $50,000 NetVUE program development grant to be used during the 2021-23 academic years. NetVUE is the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Exploration and is sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges. Their grants are intended to help institutions deepen vocational exploration and discernment among undergraduate students. NetVUE Program Development Grants are made possible thanks to generous financial support to the Council of Independent Colleges by Lilly Endowment Inc.
Bryn Athyn College was previously selected to receive a 2019-20 Professional Development Award of just under $10,000 from NetVUE. Our NetVUE professional development program engaged our employees in dialogue to develop a shared vision for supporting student exploration of vocation infused by our religious mission. Grant funding covered meetings of a reading and discussion group followed by a series of on-campus workshops during which participants learned from each other and from invited presenters the best practices used by other colleges when educating for vocation. A highlight was the campus visit in January 2020 by Tim Clydesdale, author of The Purposeful Graduate. The professional development grant culminated in the creation of a cross-campus collaborative program called Navigating a Useful Life. This program will help undergraduates deepen their personal, intellectual, and theological exploration of vocation – a sense of calling to a purposeful life.
Our new two-year grant will enable Bryn Athyn College to pursue five initiatives to develop the Navigating a Useful Life program: provide release time for a faculty and staff member to lead the grant-supported initiatives, develop first- and second-year Navigating a Useful Life programming in the curriculum and co-curriculum, enhance Career Education and Development programming, further our expertise in the use of Clifton Strengths while establishing a Strengths Mentors program, and develop badges related to Navigating a Useful Life.
Navigating a Useful Life committee members include Michael Austin, Jonathan Carr, Wendy Closterman, Jennifer DeLuca, Matthew Genzlinger, Laura Nash, Bill O’Neill, Renee Rosenfeld, and Dan Synnestvedt.
To learn more, or to join us in our efforts, please reach out to any of the above committee members. And look for an invitation soon to join us for a socially-distanced Navigating a Useful Life launch party on campus before the end of the spring term (details forthcoming).