Baylor Honors College Awarded $30,000 Lilly Network Grant
Baylor University Honors College has received a $30,000 Network Exchange Grant from the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities to host honors education leaders from Christian colleges and universities across the country.
The grant falls under an initiative designed to showcase exemplary expressions of church-related university mission. A nationally recognized center of Christian academic excellence, the Honors College will use grant funds to plan a three-day program on Baylor’s campus for 15 participants with leadership roles in honors education from across the Lilly Network. The gathering will invite these educators to reflect on how honors programs and colleges can embody and advance the Christian mission of their own universities.
“The Lilly Network was founded in 1991 when secularization in American universities was a growing concern,” said Dean of the Honors College Douglas Henry, Ph.D. “Designed to celebrate and strengthen church-related mission in higher education, the Lilly Network has become a mainstay of Christian universities. Baylor has been part of it from the very beginning, doing our part along the way to encourage and uplift our sister institutions. The Network Exchange Grant is one more way to share what we’ve learned.”
During the exchange, participants will engage with Baylor faculty, staff, and students to examine the Honors College’s distinctive integration of academic excellence, faith formation, and community life. Sessions will explore topics such as institutional mission and strategy, curriculum design, student recruitment, communication, residential life, and development viewed through the lens of Christian higher education.
“This grant continues Baylor’s long-term partnership with the Lilly Church Affiliated school network in new and creative ways,” Director of the Institute for Faith and Learning Elisabeth Kincaid, Ph.D., J.D. said. “I’m thrilled that the Honors College is so intentionally sharing these wonderful intellectually rigorous faith-informed education strategies with other Christian institutions. This project demonstrates that Baylor’s commitment to leading as a Christian research university isn’t just for ourselves but the broader faith-based academic community.”
Participants will also have opportunities to experience aspects of Baylor’s Honors College firsthand, including its residential community, faculty-student mentorship model, and shared rhythms of worship and study. Following the exchange, attendees will create action plans tailored to their home institutions, outlining practical steps for strengthening honors education in light of their own missional contexts.
“The Baylor Honors College Network Exchange is an exciting opportunity for schools in the Lilly Network to come together, reflect on honors education, and bring new ideas to fruition on their campuses,” Lilly Fellows Network Program Director Jenna Van Sickle said. “Baylor's Honors College exemplifies education that is oriented toward the mission, and sharing this is sure to inspire other institutions as they gather to reflect on best practices in honors education.”
The Lilly Network’s grant affirms Baylor’s longstanding role as a thought leader in Christian higher education. For more than two decades, faculty from the Honors College have contributed to Lilly initiatives through conference leadership, mentoring programs, and scholarly collaboration. This new exchange continues that partnership, fostering deeper connections among educators who view the life of the mind as inseparable from faith in Christ.
Information about the application process and participant selection for the program will be announced in the coming months through the Lilly Network and Baylor Honors College websites.