IWU Gets Lilly Endowment Grant to Stem ‘Brain Drain’

Indiana Wesleyan University has been awarded a $500,000 matching grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to develop and implement a new approach to summer internships. The university will provide an additional $500,000 to fund the five-year Enterprise Community Initiative.

The latest initiative is part of an ongoing effort by Lilly Endowment, in partnership with IWU and other Indiana colleges and universities, to address the state’s brain drain. Over the course of the initiative, IWU will identify 10 Indiana Enterprise Communities to partner with in providing a holistic student internship experience.

Students will participate in a paid internship that aligns with their academic area of study, but they will also:

• Live in the community where they are interning.
• Participate in community service.
• Attend a local church.
• And be connected to an IWU alumni mentor within that same community.

The entire experience will be supported through a free two-credit course that students will enroll in during the summer of the experience. This multi-faceted approach to internships will promote community investment and enhance the student experience through several academic and community-based layers of support.

The program will begin in June with five internships each in three cities. At the end of the five-year program, there will be eight internships in each of the 10 Enterprise Communities.

The Enterprise Community Initiative will be located in the new Enterprise Zone facility, an office that comprises the experiential arm of the Center for Life Calling and Leadership in IWU’s Student Center.

Two employees will be hired for the program, which will be directed by Jill Morrison, IWU’s Coordinator of Internships.

Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based philanthropic foundation created in 1937. The Endowment supports the causes of religion, education and community development with special emphasis on projects that benefit young people and promote leadership education and financial self-sufficiency in the nonprofit, charitable sector.

Indiana Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian comprehensive university that was founded in 1920 and is committed to liberal arts and professional education. The University is sponsored by The Wesleyan Church, which has its world headquarters in Indianapolis.

More than 3,200 students are enrolled in traditional programs on the University’s main campus in Marion. Another 12,000 adult learners attend classes at regional campuses in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio and online.

For Additional Information
Jill Morrison
765-677-2520
jill.morrison@indwes.edu