The University of Scranton has received a Professional Development Award for $20,000 from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE). Scranton is one of 43 institutions to receive a total of $889,000 in funding from the Council of Independent Colleges through NetVUE.
Grant funding will be used to support the implementation of the new Ignatian Core Curriculum, a revision of the general education program to be launched in the fall of 2027.
Teresa Grettano, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of English and Theatre and Faculty Senate president, applied for the grant to develop an Ignatian pedagogy workshop for faculty from across the curriculum to design new or revise existing courses.
At the heart of the new curriculum is the Core Capstone, which is intended to guide students nearing the end of their programs toward vocational exploration and discernment as they reflect on their transformation throughout their Catholic, Jesuit education at Scranton.
In August 2025, 13 faculty members from across all three colleges met for two days to discuss Ignatian spirituality and pedagogy, workshop course design and assignments and build a supportive and collaborative community of instructors.
“The real measure of our Jesuit universities lies in who our students become,” Dr. Grettano said, quoting former Jesuit Superior General Rev. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. “We want students to be aware of and active participants in this transformation process. The Core Capstone is our opportunity to accompany them through reflecting back on their time at Scranton and projecting forward how to bring what they have learned and who they have become here into their future professional, personal and civic lives.”
Dr. Grettano is a national NetVUE Faculty Fellow and was a selected participant in the NetVUE Leading Vocational Exploration on-campus 2024 summer seminar where she received training to “teach the teachers” about vocational education. She will mentor workshop participants through course design and development, the curricular proposal process and course delivery and assessment.
The University values its long-standing relationship with NetVUE. A program of the Council of Independent Colleges, NetVUE is a nationwide network of colleges and universities formed to support and enrich vocational exploration and discernment among undergraduate students. Financial support of NetVUE comes from a combination of membership dues and the generosity of Lilly Endowment, Inc. This is the third NetVUE grant Scranton has received to develop curriculum, totaling over $100,000 to date.