Baylor Receives $2 Million Grant From Lilly Endowment For Theological Vocation Initiative
WACO, Texas — Baylor University is one of 20 U.S. colleges and universities to receive a $1 million-plus grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to begin or enhance programs that encourage young people to consider the ministry as a career or consider faith commitments in whatever career they choose.
Baylor received a $2 million grant to establish a program called “Baylor Horizons: An Exploration of Vocation for a Life of Service.” The program will implement a comprehensive set of 13 projects, ranging from new student orientation to internships in area churches.
“Baylor was founded to be of service to church and state. Therefore, we at Baylor are grateful to Lilly Endowment for the opportunity to be involved in their new initiative called ‘Theological Vocational Exploration Programs,’” said Dr. Michael Beaty, director of the Institute for Faith and Learning and principal investigator for the grant. “Our participation in this initiative gives all of us at Baylor the opportunity to take part in activities that reaffirm, deepen and expand Baylor’s historic efforts to help our students see all of their lives as a vocation, a calling.”
“These exciting grants directly address one of the major themes of the Endowment’s grantmaking in religion, and that is to help identify, recruit, call and nurture into Christian ministry a new generation of talented pastors,” said Craig Dykstra, vice president for religion at the Indianapolis-based foundation.
Totaling $39.7 million, the 20 grants were selected from 31 schools that were awarded planning grants in May 1999. The Endowment’s board of directors also approved a $50 million commitment for a second round of grants in this invitational, competitive initiative for church-related schools.
“The caliber of proposals that we received in this initiative was absolutely outstanding,” Dykstra said. “It is clear to us that these schools have thought deeply and productively about this issue of encouraging young people to consider questions of faith and commitment when they choose their careers.”
Founded in 1937, Lilly Endowment is a private family foundation that supports its founders’ wishes by supporting the causes of religion, community development and education.