Samford University has received a $49,072 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. of Indianapolis, Ind., to develop a program that helps students examine the relationship between their faith and vocational choices.
The program also would provide opportunities for students to explore Christian ministry as a vocation and would enhance the capacity of faculty and staff to teach and mentor students in this area.
Samford was one of 50 church-related schools awarded such planning grants of more than 300 applicants nationally. The program is designed "to identify and nurture a new generation of highly talented and religiously committed leaders for church and society," according to the Endowment.
The grant will enable Samford to coordinate the efforts of various programs and departments into an overall strategy for helping students relate their faith to their choice of vocation.
"Many different University programs and departments are concerned about this--Student Ministries, Community Service, the Religion Department, the Divinity School, the Alabama Poverty Project and various service learning programs," said Dr. David Chapman, dean of Samford's Howard College of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Randy Todd, chair of the Samford Classics Department, leads the faculty/staff team that will develop the program.