February 25, 2022
Contact: Judith Cebula
317.916.7327 | communications@lei.org
Lilly Endowment Honors 103 Indiana Educators with Teacher Creativity Fellowships
Indianapolis – They encourage students to explore, inquire and grow. Now 103 Indiana K-12 educators will have the opportunity to renew their own curiosity and capacity to learn through Lilly Endowment’s Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program.
The Endowment is making 103 grants to teachers, principals, media specialists, counselors and other educators working in schools across the state. The grants will fund renewal programs that the educators designed to help them restore their enthusiasm for their profession and stimulate creativity, which should in turn enhance the educational experiences of their students.
Created in 1987, the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program offers encouragement and support to Indiana’s K-12 educators working in public and private schools. Each fellow will receive a grant of up to $12,000 to fund personally and professionally meaningful activities. These educators work in varied school settings, including traditional public schools, charter schools and private schools (both religiously affiliated and independent) in cities and towns and in suburban and rural communities throughout the state. Learn about the 2022 fellows and their renewal plans here.
As the world entered a third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, many educators submitted proposals that focused on activities to sustain their health and well-being. They outlined pilgrimages to Spain, Italy and Greece. Others detailed plans to travel to U.S. National Parks for a hiking expedition, run a half marathon and participate in a writing retreat. Still others described activities connected to travel with family to Africa, Asia and Latin America to explore personal ancestries. Several educators made plans to renew their engagement with creative pursuits, such as photography, cooking, quilting and art glass making.
“During another extraordinary year in which teachers, principals and other K-12 educators have faced ongoing pressures caused by the pandemic, meaningful renewal experiences take on an added value,” said Ted Maple, the Endowment’s vice president for education. “We are inspired by these individuals who seek to rejuvenate their commitment to their students and to the education profession.”
Recognizing the fluid nature of travel restrictions during the pandemic and to enable fellows the flexibility to travel safely, the Endowment is extending the timeframe that fellows have to complete their renewal experiences. They will have until 2024 to conclude activities being funded with 2022 grants.
Including the 2022 class, nearly 3,450 Indiana educators have received grants since the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program began in 1987. The Endowment selected the 2022 fellows from a competitive pool of applicants. Indiana K-12 classroom teachers, principals, assistant principals, school counselors and social workers, media specialists and librarians, and instructional coaches are eligible to apply for program.
The Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program is one of five programs through which the Endowment makes grants to fund renewal experiences for people working in various non-profit sectors. Renewal programs are available for individuals working in human services and in the arts in central Indiana and for clergy who pastor churches in Indiana and across the nation. Learn more about these efforts here.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J. K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.K. Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with its founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.