About Postdoctoral Fellowship Program


One of the three initiatives the Lilly Fellows Program sustains is the Two-Year, Residential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at Valparaiso University.

Lilly Postdoctoral Fellowships are two-year residential fellowships for teacher-scholars who seek to renew and enrich their intellectual and professional lives while preparing for careers at church-related institutions of higher learning. Each academic year, up to two Fellows are appointed for two-year periods. Fellows are selected from applicants who have an interest in the relationship between Christianity and the academy and seek a career at a church-related college or university. Fellows are in residence at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Lilly Fellows Program is fully ecumenical.

Lilly Fellows are incorporated into a community of Christian teacher-scholars through:

  • Teaching experiences in eight courses over two years in appropriate departments and Christ College (Honors College) at Valparaiso University, including the opportunity to teach in the fall semester of the Christ College First Year Program
  • Mentoring over the course of two years by a senior faculty member from the Fellow's discipline or Christ College
  • Participation in weekly meetings of a two-year colloquium program led by Senior Fellows from Valparaiso University
  • Research opportunities for scholarly or creative work in the Fellow's field and in the relationship of Christianity to the academy
  • Opportunities to develop contact with representatives from the Program's National Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities
  • Assistance in the second year with career planning and placement

For Eligibility, Appointment, and Compensation, click here

For Application Procedures, click here

For a List of Current Fellows, click here

For a List of Former Fellows, click here

Applications will be accepted beginning on November 29, 2022. The Application Deadline is Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

Applications will be submitted through Interfolio.

Noteworthy News

May LFP Update

The Current LFP Update for May 2023 is now available. Click here.


Registration is now open for the 2023 National Conference

Registration is now open for the 2023 National Conference, "Contemplating Integral Ecology for the Common Good," on October 20-22 at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. Click here for more information and to register. 


Registration is now open for the 2023 Administrators Workshop

Registration is now open for the 2023 Workshop for Senior Administrators on the topic, "Fostering Hope in a Polarized Age," October 19-20, at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. Click here for more information and to register.


Announcing the winner of the 2022 Arlin G. Meyer Prize

We are pleased to announce Gordon Johnston, Professor of Creative Writing at Mercer University, as the winner of the 2022 Arlin G. Meyer Prize in Imaginative Writing for his book of poetry, Scaring the Bears. For more information and to see the finalist for this prize, click here.


Lilly Network of Church- Related Colleges and Universities

If you are interested in learning more about membership in the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities, please contact us here.


New edition of Leading Lives that Matter released

In their second edition of Leading Lives That Matter, editors Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass compile a wide range of texts—from ancient and contemporary literature, social commentary, and philosophy—related to questions of vital interest for those who are trying to decide what to do with their lives and what kind of human beings they hope to become. Leading Lives that Matter has been an important text in many of our fellowship and grant programs, and it contains excellent resources. Click here for more information and an excerpt.