From the Program Director

"The Lilly Fellows Program in the Humanities and the Arts seeks to renew and enhance the connections between Christianity and the academic vocation at church-related colleges and universities." This mission statement has provided The Lilly Fellows Program with its guiding vision for the past twelve years, both in the preparation of a future generation of teachers, scholars, and leaders through the postdoctoral fellowship program and in sustaining a larger conversation about vocation and mission for the colleges and universities that are part of the LFP Network. As Program Director, I have been privileged to witness this renewal and enhancement at the personal and institutional level.

Organizations grow and evolve over time, and through the contributions of the Lilly Endowment, Valparaiso University, and the Network institutions, the Lilly Fellow Program now sponsors a wide array of projects and initiatives that involve faculty, administrators, and students on the campuses of 73 Network institutions. These initiatives encourage faculty members to think in new ways about their vocations as teachers and scholars, generate increased dialogue about issues of church-related higher education on individual campuses, promote the establishment of centers and institutes, and create dialogue among hundreds of faculty members and administrators across disciplinary and denominational lines.

In its next phase the LFP should, perhaps, find ways to broaden the constituencies and deepen the conversation about religion and the academy on the Network campuses themselves. To some extent, we have already begun this process. A series of Workshops for Administrators initiated this fall provides senior administrators an opportunity to engage in substantive conversations about religious mission and identity. A projected series of National Research Conferences will allow Network faculty to reflect more deeply on religious and ethical issues in their disciplines. Four Undergraduates Conferences will encourage students to think more seriously about their vocations in a religious context. And the Mentoring Model Initiative underway will provide guidance for mentoring and nurturing faculty members at church-related institutions. The vocation grants that many of the Network schools have received from Lilly Endowment should also enrich the conversation on individual campuses.

However, the continued vitality and integrity of organizations ultimately depend upon the individuals who constitute them. This is particularly true of the LFP, which has been enriched enormously by the contributions of postdoctoral fellows, senior fellows, Network board members, presidents and representatives, and the directors of LFP projects and initiatives. The vitality of the postdoctoral fellowship program is evidenced by the moving essays on vocation written by the three first-year fellows in this issue of the network Communiqué. It is also apparent in the attractive positions the fellows continue to find at Network institutions. Another testimony of contributions by individuals in the LFP is the imminent publication of two books: Teaching As An Act of Faith: Theory and Practice in Church-Related Higher Education, a collection of essays edited by Arlin C. Migliazzo, and Mentoring for Mission: Nurturing New Faculty at Church-Related Colleges, written by Caroline J. Simon and seven collaborators.

A final indication of the vitality of church-related higher education is seen within the LFP Network institutions. Since the inception of the Lilly Fellows Program, almost every Network college and university has undertaken a self-study regarding its Christian mission and/or relationship to its sponsoring religious tradition. Many of these same schools have received vocation grants from the Lilly Endowment and are presently developing programs to enhance the religious dimensions of their institutions.

Like organizations, individuals undergo transitions in their lives and careers. Having been blessed so abundantly during my tenure as Program Director of the Lilly Fellows Program, I am retiring from that position and from Valparaiso University. Mark Schewhn and Margaret Franson will continue in their same leadership roles. Mel Piehl, Professor of History and Humanities in Christ College, has been named the new Program Director. I am confident that the future direction and continued vitality of the Lilly Fellows Program rests not only in their capable hands, but also in the hands, hearts, and minds of the hundreds of people who have been an integral part of this project. May God continue to bless you in that work.

Arlin G. Meyer
Professor of English, Valparaiso University