In 2002, St. Olaf received a five-year, nearly two million dollar grant from the Lilly Endowment's Program on the Theological Exploration of Vocation (read the entire proposal). Upon receipt of the grant, St. Olaf developed the Program for Lives of Worth and Service aimed at aiding students, faculty, staff and alumni in their discernment of and reflection on vocation. This unique program sought to make and institutionalize change in such a way that the entire St. Olaf community became engaged in coming to a new understanding of the meaning of "vocation." From Week One to graduation and beyond, workshops, mentoring, curricular programs and retreats integrated the discussion of vocation into the very fabric of the St. Olaf experience.

In fall of 2005, the Lilly Endowment invited St. Olaf to submit a proposal for a Lilly Sustainability Grant. The three-year grant's purpose is to help the College transition and institutionalize some of the vocational exploration programs and services awarded in the original grant. In May 2006, we were pleased to be notified that St. Olaf College was awarded a $430K grant. St. Olaf moved into this sustainability phase in September of 2008. We feel that this award is a testament to the good work we have done with infiltrating the notion of vocation on campus.

The Lilly Program Grant is coordinated and administered through the Center for Experiential Learning (CEL).

Click here to read the 7/1/07-6/30/08 report.