Ten Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) campus ministries —six of which are UKirk ministries—have each received a $100,000 Campus Ministry Initiative Grant from the Lilly Endowment.
Lilly is now accepting proposals for the Campus Ministry Initiative Grant in 2015. Letters of interest are due on February 2, full proposals on June 8.
The primary objective of the Campus Ministries Theological Exploration of Vocation Initiative is for campus ministries to “strengthen capacity to identify and nurture a new generation of talented and religiously committed leaders for church and society.”
Jason Brian Santos, Presbyterian Mission Agency's collegiate ministries associate and national director of UKirk ministries, calls this initiative “one of the most significant investments in campus ministry in the last century.”
“Receiving this grant affirms the vibrancy and value of the work our ministries are doing,” says Erica Liu, a campus co-pastor at the Pres House at the University of Wisconsin, who was one of the pilot programs receiving the grant in 2013. “Just think if another 10 or more receive this grant like 2014, — that would be another $1M for campus ministry in our church.”
Campus ministries interested in the grant are encouraged “to be more intentional about providing vocational discernment activities and leadership development opportunities in their programs.”
A way of strengthening capacity to identify and nurture a new generation of talented, religiously committed leaders for church and society.
The grant is open to religious and charitable ministries that work with students at public universities and colleges.
PC(USA) ministries receiving the award are listed below, followed by four ecumenical ministries of which the PC(USA) is a part—who also received the grant.
- Cooper House and Blacksburg Presbyterian Church at Virginia Tech
- First Presbyterian Church of Boulder at University of Colorado
- First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley at University of California
- First Presbyterian Church of Tuscaloosa at University of Alabama
- Pres House (Presbyterian Student Center Foundation) at University of Wisconsin – Madison
- Presbyterian Campus Ministry at University of Georgia, Athens
- State College Presbyterian Church at Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania
- University Presbyterian Church at University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
- University Presbyterian Church at University of Washington, Seattle
- Westminster Foundation at West Virginia University, Morgantown
(Ecumenical)
- Cooperative Christian Ministry in Higher Education at University of North Carolina
- Ecumenical Campus Ministry at Kansas State University, Manhattan
- United Campus Ministry at University of Maryland, College Park
- United Ministries of Higher Education at Missouri State University, Springfield
See a full list of campus ministries who have received the Campus Ministry Initiative from Lilly here.