Lilly Program
Faculty Reaction to the Grant
The awarding of the grant, "Vocation: Identity, Intellect, and Life
Choices: A Move Toward Wholeness," and the prospect of Denison's
participation in the Lilly Endowment program on vocation evoked an
intense response from a significant group of faculty. An open letter to
the College signed by 39 faculty colleagues called into question the
appropriateness of the predominantly Christian focus of the grant and
viewed it as an "attempt to reintroduce an explicitly religious element
into the life of the College, among both faculty and students, and
furthermore to do so in a way that is specifically Christian, and even
more particularly Protestant, in content."
After considerable discussion, a Faculty Task Force was elected
to study the issues. The Task Force deliberated over a period of seven
months and then issued a report which included the following
recommendations which were adopted by the faculty: 1) election of two
additional faculty members to the original grant-writing and
grant-oversight committee; 2) a report to the faculty each semester by
the Grant Administrator; 3) continued program development beyond
religious-based efforts; 4) development of procedures to involve the
campus community more directly in deliberations during the development
of proposals for sizable grants; and 5) analysis of programmatic and
other consequences when the resources of the grant have been expended.
In addition, the Task Force raised thoughtful points concerning such things as the religious affiliation of the Chaplain, the granting of internships beyond the Protestant churches, and the continued recognition of the importance of diversity in approaches--spiritual and non-spiritual, religious and non-religious--in addressing issues in the curriculum and in the community.
The Lilly Committee affirms that its work will be informed by the adopted Faculty Task Force Report and that it intends to implement responsibly the recommendations of the Task Force.
For direct questions contact Tim Hofmeister, Lilly Program Faculty Co-Director, at 740.587.6335 or Mark R. Orten, Lilly Program Chaplain Co-Director, at 740.587.8504