News & Events
Presbyterian College Receives Lilly Endowment Pilot Grant
CLINTON – Presbyterian College has been awarded a $50,000 pilot grant from Lilly Endowment to establish partnerships between a select group of colleges, seminaries, and churches for the purpose of seeking ways to better engage their constituencies on matters of pluralism and globalization, college officials announced today.
The $114, 500 budget will be used to begin unique conversations with church and educational entities that focus on preparing Christian leaders for effective service.
"As the century unfolds, there is perhaps no force with a greater impact on our colleges, seminaries, and the church than the growing diversity of our society and the globalization of the world economy," said Presbyterian College president Dr. John V. Griffith. "As such, the church and its related educational institutions share responsibility to prepare leaders to live faithfully in a world that is increasingly interconnected and multicultural."
Presbyterian College will take the lead, as five colleges in different regions of the country create teams consisting of the college, a seminary, and three church congregations. The teams will be made up of college and seminary faculty, administrators, ministers, youth educators, and parishioners. Each team will design a project that addresses a particular issue and manner of addressing pluralism and globalization from a Christian perspective. The work will culminate in a leadership conference hosted by Presbyterian College at which teams will present and refine their projects for implementation and distribution.
Griffith will join Laura Mendenhall, president of Colombia Theological Seminar; Gary Luhr, executive director of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities; Charles Wiley, Presbyterian Church (USA), and Lee Hinson-Hasty, director of the Committee on Theological Education (PCUSA) will compose the leadership group that will organize, coordinate, and disseminate this effort.
For the last two years, PC has undertaken a comprehensive and in-depth self-study of what it means to be a church-related liberal arts college in today's changing world. From this study comes a new appreciation for the role that liberal arts education plays in understanding faith-based issues in the world at large.
"By engaging students, faculty, clergy, and laity in cross-disciplinary discussions on the religious, economic, ethical, and cultural dimensions of globalization and the institutions that shape it, we hope to strengthen the skills of those who serve and will serve as leaders," Griffith said. "As a group we bring unique perspectives to the discussion, along with a previously untapped reservoir of faith-based resources to increase awareness and understanding of globalization, cultural diversity, and Christian identity."
Lilly Endowment is an Indianapolis-based private foundation that supports the causes of religion, education, and community development.
