February 24, 2023
Contact: Judith Cebula
317.916.7327 | cebulaj@lei.org
Lilly Endowment Honors Indiana Educators With Teacher Creativity Fellowships
Indianapolis – They encourage their students to explore, inquire and grow. Now 102 Indiana K-12 educators will renew their own curiosity and capacity to learn through Lilly Endowment’s Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program.
The Endowment is making grants to teachers, principals, counselors, media specialists and other educators working in Indiana schools. The grants will fund renewal projects that the educators designed to help restore their commitment to the education profession and stimulate creativity, which promise to 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 2023 fellows and their renewal plans here.
Influenced by the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors taking an emotional and physical toll on educators today, many fellows proposed projects to establish healthy habits through exercise or meditation. Other projects involve exploring intellectual pursuits, such as studying environmental conservation, learning new languages and understanding peace-building efforts in Israel-Palestine and Rwanda. There are projects that include exploring national parks across the United States, learning fly fishing and running a half-marathon. Still other projects focus on travel with family to Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America to investigate personal ancestries. Several educators are preparing to engage creative pursuits, such as photography, cooking, knitting and pottery.
“Each day, Indiana’s K-12 educators make extraordinary contributions to the lives of students and their communities,” said Ted Maple, the Endowment’s vice president for education. “We are truly inspired by the creative renewal projects of this year’s fellows and look forward to seeing how their experiences strengthen their commitment to the education profession.”
Including the 2023 fellows, more than 3,500 Indiana educators have received grants since the Teacher Creativity Fellowship Program began. The Endowment selected the 2023 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 nonprofit 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 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. Although the Endowment maintains a special commitment to its founders’ hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana, it also funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion.