Although the language of vocation was born in a religious context, the contributors in this volume demonstrate that it has now taken root within the broad framework of higher education and has become intertwined with a wide range of concerns. This volume makes a compelling case for vocational reflection and discernment in undergraduate education today, arguing that it will encourage faculty and students alike to venture out of their narrow disciplinary specializations and to reflect on larger questions of meaning and purpose.In conversation with a growing range of scholarly resources, these essays advance the cause of vocational reflection and discernment well beyond its occasional mention in general education courses and career placement offices. The book's thirteen contributors all work in higher education, but they do so as biologists and musicians, sociologists and engineers, doctors and lawyers, college presidents and deans, and scholars of history, literature, and business administration. Together, they demonstrate that vocation has an important role to play across the entire range of traditional academic disciplines and applied fields. Regardless of major, all undergraduates need to consider their current and future responsibilities, determine the stories they will live by, and discover resources for addressing the tensions that will inevitably arise among their multiple callings.Vocation across the Academy will help to reframe current debates about the purpose of higher education. It underscores the important role that colleges and universities can play in encouraging students to reflect more deeply on life's most persistent questions and to consider how they might best contribute to the common good.

ForewordRichard H. Ekman, President, Council of Independent CollegesPrefaceVocations of the ContributorsIntroductionLanguage that Works: Vocation and the Complexity of Higher EducationDavid S. CunninghamPart One: Calling without Borders: Vocational Themes across the AcademyChapter 1Vocation is Responsibility": Broader Scope, Deeper DiscernmentMargaret E. MohrmannChapter 2The Conflicts in Our Callings: The Anguish (and Joy) of Willing Several ThingsJason A. MahnChapter 3Called to Tell Our Stories: The Narrative Structure of VocationShirley Hershey ShowalterPart Two: Calling in Context: Fields of Study as Resources for Vocational ReflectionChapter 4Calling over the Life Course: Sociological InsightsCatherine FobesChapter 5To Whom Do I Sing, and Why? Vocation as an Alternative to Self-ExpressionDavid FuentesChapter 6Coordination, Community, Covenant: Insights from Organization TheoryMichael E. CafferkyChapter 7The Art and Science of Vocation: Wisdom and Conscience as Companions on a WayCelia Deane-DrummondPart Three: Called into the Future: Professional Fields and Preparation for LifeChapter 8Laboring in the Garden: Vocation and the Realities of WorkChristine M. FletcherChapter 9Unplugging the GPS: Rethinking Undergraduate Professional Degree ProgramsJeff R. BrownChapter 10Of Doing and Being: Broadening Our Understanding of VocationJerome M. OrganPart Four: Vocation at Full Stretch: Overcoming Obstacles to the Language of CallChapter 11Colleges Have Callings, Too: Vocational Reflection at the Institutional LevelDavid S. CunninghamChapter 12Religion, Reluctance, and Conversations about VocationMark U. Edwards, Jr.Chapter 13Good Teaching: Character Formation and Vocational DiscernmentMark R. SchwehnEpilogueVocabularies of Vocation: Language for a Complex Educational LandscapeDavid S. CunninghamIndex of NamesIndex of Subjects