Wake Forest receives professional development award to strengthen vocational exploration
Wake Forest has been awarded the Professional Development Award by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) through its Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). The $25,000 grant will support professional development opportunities for faculty and staff, enabling the University to deepen and expand its vocational exploration programming. This NetVUE award is made possible through the support of Lilly Endowment Inc.
“This year’s Professional Development Award grantees will build capacity among staff and faculty members to develop initiatives that lay the groundwork for future campus engagement around vocation,” says Robert Pampel, NetVUE Grants Program Officer. “I am eager to see how these campus teams convert their curiosity and thoughtfulness around vocation into inclusive, reflective, and purposeful initiatives that lay the groundwork for transformational vocation work in the future.”
Wake Forest is among 43 institutions selected for this year’s grant cycle, each working to advance the conversation about vocation on college campuses. Through this opportunity, Wake Forest will enhance its vocational discernment efforts by integrating leadership, character, and integrity into a unified campuswide approach—embedding these values into every undergraduate’s vocational journey. This project underscores the University’s commitment to equipping students with the mindset, tools, and experiences to discern their callings, lead lives of meaning and impact, and develop as leaders of character, integrity, and courage.
“The NetVUE Professional Development Award project aligns with Wake Forest’s strategic priorities and our guiding motto, Pro Humanitate,” said Andy Chan, vice president. “By equipping faculty and staff to support all students in their vocational exploration and discernment, this initiative will advance our commitment to developing leaders of character and purpose and strengthen our community of learning.”
For the initial phase of this project, the Provost has appointed a group of faculty and staff to learn about and discuss vocation, character, purpose, leadership, and career and life readiness at Wake Forest and other universities. This phase will be completed by the end of Spring 2026. Additional programming pilot concepts will be developed to enable more faculty and staff to get involved beginning in academic year 2027. Interested faculty and staff can learn more about NetVUE’s many resources and learning opportunities on the NetVUE website.