The University-Wide Programs invite all undergraduate students to consider and explore a deeper sense of call or vocation in their lives. It is our hope that all students, by the time they graduate, will have given some thought to how their faith and convictions may guide them in making their career and other life choices. The University intends to encourage this exploration of vocation through both academic structures and a co-curricular component.

The Humanities Base

One of our aims is to ensure that all University of Dayton students in their first year have at least an acquaintance with the concept of vocation. The Humanities Base is one place where this concept might be addressed.

The Humanities Base consists of four courses (English, philosophy, religious studies and history) which provide the foundation for general education at the University of Dayton. The content of these courses is integrated around the question: "What does it mean to be human?" and around themes and texts germane to the Catholic intellectual tradition of the University. The concept of vocation can contribute to the discussions that takes place in the Humanities Base.

The First-Year Experience

The First-Year Experience is a one-credit course designed to introduce all first-year students to University life. The College of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools each develop and offer coursework tailored to their own academic program. A variety of topics, including the nature and mission of the University, are included in the curriculum.

This course provides another opportunity to introduce the concept of vocation into the students' academic experience. The Program for Christian Leadership is working with each of the schools to incorporate a vocational component into the First-Year Experience courses.

The Christian Leadership Learning Community

This First-Year Learning Community provides opportunities for interaction throughout the UD community on topics related to the Christian traditions. Students choosing this residence community are supported in their development of a mature Christian life perspective, including social, academic, and faith components. Students who choose to live in this community will be living with other students who seriously contemplate the ways in which God has called them to be a light to others. They are committed to their faith, have a celebratory sense of being with each other, and support each other academically, spiritually, and socially. They understand the importance of responsibility to community and respect for others as unique individuals formed in the image of God. They will have the opportunity to reflect on their faith life with other students who value ministry, service, leadership, and vocation as vital components of their lives. These students are encouraged to join small faith sharing communities, participate in retreats, plan masses and prayer services, and help coordinate community service projects in the greater Dayton area.

The community is open to students of all faith traditions. It seeks to create an ecumenical community centered in faith and is conscious of its ability to transform the lives of its student members as well as the lives of other members of the university and the greater Dayton area. It also encourages students to develop an awareness of and response to a sense of call.

First-year students planning to live in the Christian Leadership Learning Community are encouraged to attend the Summer Workshop in Leadership and Vocation. To learn more about First-Year Learning Communities, click here.

Co-curricular Component: Reflection, Dialogue, and Faith in Action

This component of the program is open to any undergraduate interested in exploring the meaning of vocation in their lives through reflection, dialogue, and service. Students would be identified for participation in the activities listed below in two ways:

• Self-selection through surveys given in the First-Year Experience seminars already offered in each of the schools.

• Identification of students by UD faculty and staff. Students identified in this way would be extended an invitation to participate in each activity.

Students who participate in the co-curricular component would be invited to form small faith sharing groups through which discussion and exploration could continue. Other activities, such as the extensive programs and retreats offered by Campus Ministry, are readily available to students.