Engaging, inspiring speakers contribute enormously to the success of our conference.
Thank you for providing your presentation proposal for our consideration!

As the Catholic liberal education movement matures, ICLE is happy to offer again this year a Scholars Track at our National Conference. The Scholars Track will feature academic presentations with papers on topics ranging from literature to math, theology to music.

In Scripture, light not only depicts God’s presence and transforming power; it also illuminates knowledge and witnesses to the Truth. God’s people are called to be a light to the nations.

C.S. Lewis noted that knowledge comes not simply by looking at things from the outside in an analytical fashion, such as studying a sunbeam in a dark room; we must also look along the shaft of light—stepping into its path and seeing what else it illuminates. The renewal of Catholic education is not only a venture of studying about the Church’s intellectual tradition, but stepping into it and seeing what—and, more importantly, Who—it reveals from the inside.

St. Catherine of Siena said that, “the task of the educator is to bring the soul from the shadows of ignorance into the light of truth.” Inspired by this calling and the compelling scene depicted in Caravaggio’s The Calling of Saint Matthew, we will explore how Catholic liberal education moves our hearts, minds, and world toward “Stepping into the Light,” at Christ’s invitation to, “Follow me” (Matthew 9:9).

Where possible, we encourage papers that draw from and reflect the conference theme, but we also consider separate topics.

As you prepare your proposal, please keep the following in mind:

• The proposal deadline has passed.
• Proposals should be in the form of a 300-word abstract.
• You will be notified by Friday, February 27, regarding the status of your proposal.
• Scholars Track presenters are chosen from among our registered National Conference attendees. We are pleased to offer a small honorarium; however, we are unable to waive the speaker’s registration and travel costs. If your proposal is accepted, you are asked to register yourself for the Conference within a week.
• Each Scholars Track block is 50 minutes in length. You will be paired with another presenter. During the session, each presenter will be allotted 18 minutes to present, leaving time at the end of the session for about 15 minutes of Q and A. Please note that a moderator / time-keeper will be assigned to each room.
• Any handouts will be made available to participants electronically. (We will collect the digital copies of your handouts closer to the Conference date.) If you need to use printed handouts during your session, kindly bring them with you because copying facilities at the conference venue are limited. Please bring about 50 copies of each handout.
  
• Please note that we will record the audio of each presentation. Conference attendees have access to all the recordings for at least 90 days after the end of the program.
• For reference, please view the 2025 program HERE.

For questions about your submission, please Contact Elisabeth Sullivan, Vice President of Mission Advancement, at esullivan@CatholicLiberalEducation.org.