Beyond Walls, For the Common Good:
Lutheran Higher Education and Civic Responsibility
July 13-15, 2026 | Augsburg University, Minneapolis, MN
Each year, members of the National Network of ELCA Colleges & Universities (NECU) gather to explore the distinctive roles we play in higher education.The theme of the 2026 conference is “Beyond Walls, For the Common Good: Lutheran Higher Education and Civic Responsibility.”
In an age marked by polarization, inequality, and public distrust, Lutheran higher education is uniquely called to witness to faith active in love through its contributions to the civic and common good. The 2026 Vocation of Lutheran Higher Education Conference invites participants to step “beyond walls” — of campus, culture, and comfort — to rediscover how core values of faith and sharing “good news” shapes our shared responsibility for the world.
Rooted in the Lutheran tradition of two kin-doms and vocation as service to neighbor, this gathering explores how our institutions embody public faith: nurturing civic imagination, moral discernment, and courageous leadership. Together, we will examine how Lutheran colleges and universities can help heal the social fabric, cultivate democratic engagement, and advance justice for all people through education that integrates faith, reason, and the call to serve.
For more information and registration details, contact Grace.Robinson@elca.org.
***REGISTRATION INFORMATION COMING SOON***
previous conferences
2025: “Ethical Leadership in a Changing World”
2024: “Educational Access: Lutheran Roots, Contemporary Practices”
2023: “So that we (faculty, staff, and administrators), too, may flourish”
2022: “Why All This Talk about Understanding the Mission of NECU Member Institutions as a Vocation?”