DISCOVER Initiative - The DISCOVER Initiative is a University-wide effort to facilitate the exploration of vocation and calling in the undergraduate student experience. DISCOVER stands for: Development, Inquiry, Self-Exploration, Calling, Openness, Vocation, Experience, and Reflection. This initiative advances and promotes the University's understanding of vocation as it relates to our Catholic and Lasallian Mission.
Format
- Audience: Any undergraduates.
- When: Various events throughout the year. Mini-grants for course revisions are offered each semester and during the summer. Our annual “This I Believe” event showcases essays written by students.
- Frequency: Yearly; “Advising season” in the spring and fall. Other components include the “DSCVR” retreat offered through our campus ministry office, which is held in the spring.
- Approximate Number of Participants: Several dozen students currently participate in our retreat programs and other activities. Three dozen faculty members regularly participate in a variety of activities.
- Focus of Retreat: The “DSCVR” retreat offered through our campus ministry office, which is held in the spring. It is geared primarily for sophomores and is a two-day, overnight experience.
Funding and Operations
DISCOVER has been the recipient of the NetVUE as well as the Lilly Endowment grant.
- External Support: We received a 2-year $50,000 NetVUE Program Development Grant offered through the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and the Lilly Endowment in 2012.
- Operations: DISCOVER costs between $35,000 - $40,000 a year to operate, but that cost is likely to decrease when the grant funding comes to an end. Many of the expenses are those that are embedded in other department budgets or programs.