About the Center
The Augustana College Center for Vocational Reflection helps students recognize who they are called to be. Vocation/calling is realized when one's skills, gifts, and talents combine with one's passions to meet the needs of the community. The Center works to create times and spaces for vocation to be discerned.
Mission Statement
The Augustana Center for Vocational Reflection encourages and supports members of the campus community in continually deepening their understanding of themselves and their faith commitments, and in living and serving responsibly in the wider community.
In order to fulfill this mission, the Augustana Center for Vocational Reflection will:
- Create a physical and virtual place for the College community's exploration and study of personal gifts and dispositions, faith commitments, and responsibilities to others.
- Communicate information about, and coordinate opportunities for, vocational reflection.
- Guide vocational reflection and discernment in an informed, open, and welcoming way.
- Encourage students to discern whether they are called to full-time service in a faith community.
- Provide both financial and intellectual support to the faculty for the development of new curriculum concerning vocational questions and service learning.
- Support and assist the College administration with co-curricular activities that deepen our students' understanding of themselves, their educations, their opportunities to serve others, and their current and future work.
- Seek out and support opportunities and ideas for vocational reflection that we have not yet imagined.
History
In December 2002, Augustana College received a $2-million grant as part of the third and final round of the Program for Theological Exploration of Vocation, funded by the Lilly Endowment. With this grant, Augustana joined the ranks of 88 schools across the country who integrate vocational reflection into the life of their college, thanks to Lilly funding. The initial grant set out to fund the creation and operation of the Center over the course of 5 years. The Augustana College Center for Vocational Reflection opened July 1, 2003, on the 2nd floor of the Thomas Tredway Library. In 2006, Augustana received a sustaining grant of $500,000 from the Lilly Endowment to support continued operations of the Center for the years 2006-2010. We are pleased that we will be able to continue our work of helping students recognize who they are called to be.
People
The Center's work is made possible by the staff and the students that make up the CVR Team. Click here to meet them.
Location
The Center for Vocational Reflection is located in the newly renovated Carlsson Evald Hall. Find us on the east end of the first floor. We hope to see you soon!
