Valparaiso University’s Lilly Fellows Program Receives $2.4 Million Grant

Dec. 5, 2022 – Valparaiso, Indiana – The Valparaiso University-based Lilly Fellows Program has received a grant of $2,407,441 from Lilly Endowment, Inc. This is the 14th such grant to be awarded to the Lilly Fellows Program, which has supported 83 Lilly Postdoctoral Fellows since its inception in 1991. 

“I am thrilled that this grant will enable Valparaiso University to continue to shape national conversations about religion and higher education across the academic landscape,” said Jennifer Prough, Ph.D., interim dean of Christ College and professor of humanities and East Asian studies.

The Lilly Fellows Program takes a three-pronged approach to defining and living out the identity of a religious-based, Lutheran institution. The first, and most visible on campus, is the two-year postdoctoral teaching fellowship that brings the best and brightest in academia to teach at the University. In return, these fellows renew and strengthen their commitment to faith-based learning and prepare themselves for distinguished positions of leadership in church-based learning. 

The second initiative is the Lilly Fellows Graduate Program, which supports students of exceptional academic talent that are exploring vocations in church-related higher education during the first three years of their graduate studies. Current and former Lilly Graduates are all across the country, both as students and as higher-education leaders. 

The third initiative is the national network of church-related institutions maintained by the Lilly Fellows Program. Through this network, and with support from the program, faith-based institutions across the country are able to participate in meaningful dialogue regarding the identity and role of church-based higher education in today’s world, and share their ideas through a variety of sponsored activities. 

“This new grant will strengthen and expand the core activities of the Lilly Fellows Program in the form of grants to network member schools for conferences, consultations, and faculty development programs,” said Joe Creech. Ph.D., program director for the Lilly Fellows Program at Valpo. “The grant strengthens our efforts to understand and strengthen the dynamic and evolving relationship between religious life and higher education.”

Learn more about the ways the Lilly Fellows Program impacts faith-based learning at Valparaiso University and across the nation here or visit lillyfellows.org.