Bluffton University

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Why and How We Center: The Risks, Rewards and Promises of Campus Centers for Vocation
by Krista Hughes, Director of Muller Center, Newberry College

Centers can give focus, elevate institutional priorities, develop and distribute resources, gather and equip people, and incubate collaborations. Centers can also, oddly, be marginal to the college student experience, offering opportunities or services that may seem optional relative to required academic, athletic, co-curricular and personal commitments.

How can centers for vocation most effectively do their work in an atmosphere of competing priorities? This talk will consider both the risks and the rewards of centering certain programs and initiatives in a designated space on campus, and it will also invite participants to think creatively about untapped possibilities on their own campuses as we take up the larger questions of why and how we institutionally “center” our work. 

Dr. Krista E. Hughes is founding director of the Muller Center for Exploration & Engagement at Newberry College in Newberry, S.C., where she is also associate professor of religion. She has led the integration of vocational exploration into first-year programs and academic advising. A published author, she is vice chair of the Building Thriving Communities Foundation in Newberry and a regular facilitator for the community transformation organization Speaking Down Barriers, located in Upstate S.C. 

Introduction to the Bluffton Blueprint
“How do you prepare the next generation of students for a future that will be different than anyone can imagine?

At Bluffton University, the answer is through the Bluffton Blueprint—four foundational courses, one each year, which create a core of resiliency. Each course within the Bluffton Blueprint aligns with one of Bluffton’s enduring values—Discovery, Community, Respect and Service. These courses allow students to see how different groups of people come together to create positive change.

Friday, June 2, 2023

Closing presentation

Reclaiming the Center for Uncertain Times
Shari Ayers, Director of Contextual and Experiential Formation,
Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University

Most of us know that students, faculty, staff and even institutions themselves are under stress. If we didn’t know this already, the frequent studies and stories arriving in our inboxes would tell us so. In such uncertain times, programs and centers focusing on integrated and holistic vocational discernment can seem like a luxury item most campuses cannot afford. During this final time together, we will look at why and how we “center.” We will examine the risk, rewards and promises of campus centers for vocation and reimagine some possibilities for reclaiming this essential space in creative ways.

Shari Ayers served as director of Bluffton University's Center for Career and Vocation from 2013-19. Since May of 2021, she has occasionally returned to this work in consulting and interim capacities. Shari is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and is a trained intentional interim/transitional pastor. In this role, she is often called on to assist faith communities in their shared discernment of their gifts and their direction. Shari lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her wife Lynn and two cats, Franny and Jett.