INDIANAPOLIS — Throughout 2020, Indiana’s colleges and universities persist in their mission to educate our workforce amid unprecedented and rapidly changing needs of learners across the state. Lilly Endowment Inc. has emboldened Indiana’s colleges and universities to address key challenges and pursue opportunities which enhance their relevance, effectiveness and sustainability. To this end, they have established Charting the Future for Indiana’s Colleges and Universities, a three-phase initiative.

Indiana Wesleyan University has received a $2.5 million as part of the second phase of Charting the Future.

“This is wonderful news for IWU!” says IWU President David Wright. “As has been the case so many times in our experience, Lilly Endowment’s deep commitment to Indiana institutions and to IWU in particular, will play a very important role in helping us prepare for the next generation of our institutional and missional health.”

IWU will use the funds to implement a five-year strategic plan for the Marion residential campus, led by IWU-Marion Chancellor Dr. Rod Reed. Projects include the creation of an Advising Center and a reimagined General Education Curriculum. The Wildcat Innovation Team, a hub for developing new initiatives on campus, will be launched, as well as a Community Engagement Office, a central office connecting students and faculty with local businesses and service organizations.

This implementation grant was awarded to IWU under the second phase of Charting the Future. In this phase, Lilly Endowment invited proposals that present promising strategies that will result in economies of scale and other cost efficiencies to enhance the viability and financial condition of the institutions and prepare graduates for rewarding employment and to live engaged and meaningful lives, especially in Indiana. Grants under a third phase, which is competitive, will be awarded in 2021. Those grants will support collaborative efforts that seek to have large-scale impact on the ability of higher education institutions in Indiana to fulfill their educational missions.

“We are so thankful for the generous support of our mission to develop students in character, scholarship and leadership,” says Reed. “This grant will support great initiatives we are pursuing in student thriving, academic excellence, enrollment growth and community engagement. It’s an honor to be able to serve the families of Indiana and our region even more fully through the support of the Lilly Endowment.