Millsaps College has received a $20,000 Professional Development Award from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education to strengthen the college’s efforts to help students discover who they are, where they want to go and how they can make a difference through their careers and communities.
The grant will support a yearlong project led by Dr. Laura Franey, associate professor of English and interim associate dean for arts and humanities, and Dr. Daniel Jasper, provost and dean of the college. Faculty and staff will work together to develop new opportunities for students to reflect on their interests, values and goals while building communication skills in Millsaps’ Written and Oral Communication courses.
The initiative is designed to help students think more intentionally about their future and how their education can prepare them for meaningful careers and lives of service. Beginning in the 2027-28 academic year, those experiences will become part of the college’s first-year curriculum.
“Millsaps has always sought to educate the whole person, helping students develop not only the knowledge and skills needed for success but also a deeper understanding of who they are and how they want to contribute to the world,” said Jasper. “This grant allows us to build intentionally on that tradition by helping students connect their academic experiences with questions of purpose, values and vocation from their very first year on campus.”
During the next academic year, participating faculty and staff will explore successful approaches used at other colleges and develop new materials and experiences for Millsaps students. The goal is to incorporate those opportunities into the first-year curriculum beginning in 2027-28.
“It’s really exciting that NetVUE will support us as we continue our mission of providing Millsaps students something special – the ability to explore who they are, what matters to them and how they contribute to the world, from the very beginning of their time on campus,” said Franey. “This funding allows us to expand our values education and help students think intentionally about their futures, their values and their vocations.”
The Council of Independent Colleges awarded Professional Development Awards to 46 institutions nationwide in 2026. The grants support initiatives that help faculty and staff guide students as they explore questions of purpose, meaning and future direction. The program is supported by Lilly Endowment Inc.
“This year’s cohort of Professional Development Award grantees continues in a long tradition of staff and faculty members committed to deep engagement with vocational scholarship and resources as they imagine possibilities for future initiatives on campus,” said Robert Pampel, NetVUE director of member engagement.