Calumet College of St. Joseph plans to enhance its Public Safety and Education Programs, create several Healthcare Programs, and develop an Academic Resource Center with the support of a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Charting the Future for Indiana’s Colleges and Universities.
President Amy McCormack announced that this grant will allow the College to elevate the Institute for Public Safety at a time when their long experience in the field could benefit higher education, policing, and the community at large. As a long-term educator of the Calumet Region’s teachers, this grant also enables CCSJ to enhance the Education Department to serve workforce demands for appropriately qualified teachers in region schools by supporting traditional students and mid-career professionals who want to become teachers.
The College is receiving the grant through Charting the Future, Lilly Endowment’s initiative to help Indiana’s 38 accredited public and private colleges and universities consider what it would take to improve their efforts to prepare students for successful futures while thoughtfully examining the long-term financial sustainability of their institutions.
Another facet of the grant is meeting the community needs for well-trained healthcare professionals. CCSJ is pursuing key partnerships with Marian University and Valparaiso University to offer a Health Science associate degree program that will lead into nursing programs, and another partnership with Community Healthcare Systems and Franciscan Health in Northwest Indiana to offer a Medical Laboratory Science degree. The need for these professionals has been clearly identified in state and regional workforce data.
As a foundation for our response to these opportunities, the College will develop an Academic Resource Center to serve both student and faculty needs. This center will create an integrated team to respond to identified needs for instructional, technology, and research support. Funds also will be used to create technology-enhanced study and services spaces in the library.
“The grant covers a five-year period and will support the hiring of an Instructional Technologist to support faculty and students; the renovation of the first floor of the library for the Academic Resource Center; the support for additional faculty and program initiatives in Public Safety, Education and Healthcare; and scholarships for students in Education, especially in the transition to teaching program, to help address the dire need for teachers in the region”, said President Amy McCormack. “The Lilly Endowment grant has made it possible to invest in strategic areas that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to fund due to budget constraints, so I am incredibly grateful. “
This implementation grant was awarded under the second phase of Lilly Endowment’s three-phase Charting the Future for Indiana’s Colleges and Universities Initiative. In this phase, the Endowment invited proposals that present promising strategies that will result in economics 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.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli 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 the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
Calumet College of St. Joseph is a private, Catholic institution of higher learning located in Hammond, Indiana. Sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, the College lives out a commitment to social justice through education and community service. Currently serving approximately 900 students, the College has provided access to education for students of the Calumet Region since 1951.
