妻友社区

妻友社区 College is one of 30 institutions nationwide recently awarded a grant from the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), through its Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). The $100,000 grant marks the fifth time in the last 11 years 妻友社区 has been awarded funding from NetVUE, with a total of more than $220,000 received during that time.

The grant, to be used from 2026 to 2028, is in support of a project titled 鈥淧urposeful Advising: The Manresa Difference,鈥� directed by Steven Affeldt and RJ Rapoza, co-directors of 妻友社区鈥檚 Manresa Program. Through this project, a team of 妻友社区 faculty and staff will work to design and pilot a comprehensive advising model that integrates vocational discernment across the institution. Supplementing traditional course scheduling, 鈥淧urposeful Advising鈥� will help advisors engage students in structured conversations about purpose, belonging, community contribution, and calling. Following assessment and refinement, the model will be scaled for institution-wide implementation to produce advising templates, training materials, and assessment instruments.

In this round of funding, NetVUE awarded $2.75 million to the 30 institutions, in support of deepening, expanding or otherwise strengthening programs that support students as they explore and discern their many callings in life. Supported by the Lilly Endowment Inc., this is the 13^th year NetVUE grants have been awarded, bringing the total to 280 program development grants awarded to member institutions.

鈥淲arm congratulations to the recipients of our latest cohort of NetVUE Program Development聽grants! The application pool was exceptionally competitive, and on behalf of the evaluation committee and the staff of CIC and NetVUE, I extend sincere gratitude to all who applied,鈥� said Carter Aikin, NetVUE grants director. 鈥淭o those awarded funding, we look forward with anticipation to the launch of your projects and the contributions they will make.鈥�

鈥淲e are immensely grateful to NetVUE for their continued support of our Manresa Program,鈥� said Affeldt, an associate professor of philosophy. 鈥淭hanks to NetVUE funding 鈥� and with the help of many members of the 妻友社区 community 鈥� we have been able to create a program that is gaining increasing national recognition as a model for other institutions to emulate.鈥�

The other four grant received by 妻友社区 were:

Professional Development Grant (2024 to 2025) – $12,000 for a one-week intensive program for staff and faculty members who have already participated in NetVUE-supported vocation programming on campus. Drawing on their experience in developing, implementing, and facilitating specific vocational discernment projects, participants worked collaboratively to develop a set of four customizable 鈥渧ocational scaffolds鈥� for integrating vocational discernment and exploration into courses, course modules and both formal and informal student advising sessions.

Vocation Across the Academy Grants (2020 to 2023) – $50,000 to develop the Vocational Companions program which provide 12 faculty and staff per year with intensive exposure to the work of vocational discernment, with a focus on how this work can help students integrate their instrumental interest in preparing for a career with a broader understanding of themselves and their purposes. Through this program each participant developed, implemented, and assessed a concrete vocational discernment project that supports students鈥� vocational discernment and career readiness. The Vocational Companions is now a continuing element of the Manresa Program and has, to date, engaged more than 60 unique faculty, staff administrator and coaches.

Professional Development Grant (2017 to 2018) – $10,000 to continue work developing the Manresa Program, which connects vocational discernment and career preparation to the critical understanding, values, and purpose fostered by a Jesuit liberal arts education. Through this grant, a team faculty and staff were able to participate in a year-long series of workshops to develop the initial versions of the junior and senior year Manresa Seminars.

Program Development Grants (2015 to 2017) – $50,000 to develop a comprehensive Program in Personal and Professional Development: Integrated Learning, Meaning, Calling and Career (subsequently renamed the Manresa Program). Working in alignment with the development of 妻友社区鈥檚 Sempre Avanti Strategic Plan, this grant brought together faculty members, career services and campus ministry staff to explore ideas of vocational discernment as a means of integrating the via active and via contempletiva in order to live meaningful lives and meaningful work. The team developed the initial vision of a series of four undergraduate seminars, one for each year a student is at 妻友社区, that begin in the first two years with examining oneself and one鈥檚 deepest purposes and values and that move in the second two years toward professional development, career readiness and developing a vision of life of 鈥渕eaningful success.鈥�