Huntington University receives $250,000 grant to develop community

Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Huntington University with a $250,000 planning grant as part of phase one of its statewide initiative called College and Community Collaboration. The initiative was designed to support universities as they work with other organizations to better the quality of life and place in the areas surrounding their campuses.

Huntington University is in partnership with the County and City of Huntington, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, and several other regional and local stakeholders, and will use the quarter-million dollar figure to propose several strategic community projects and more future development projects. These efforts will work to identify next steps for community growth and development.

In an article posted on Huntington University’s website, Huntington Mayor Richard Strick, who is also an alum of Huntington, was quoted on the Lilly Endowment Initiative, saying, “This Lilly Endowment initiative provides a generational opportunity to strengthen existing partnerships and make a dramatic investment in the quality of life for all of us here in Huntington County — whether we’re here for four years as a student at Huntington University or forty years as a resident. I look forward to engaging the opportunity alongside other community stakeholders that share our belief in Huntington’s bold future.”

The grant funds will be used to hire consultants who have experience in architectural design, financial modeling, project prioritization analysis, and site assessments. The grant proposal also noted that this group of experts, as well as a task force made up of key stakeholders from the community including the city and University, will work to find two key conceptual projects that will improve the quality of place and life in the community, and then advance additional collaboration and growth for both Huntington University and the surrounding community.

The president of Huntington University Dr. Sherilyn Emberton was also quoted about these projects, saying, “Faith-based colleges serve as anchor institutions that add vibrancy and vitality to the communities they serve. Our platforms allow us to speak into key issues of human worth and dignity because our missions are centered on man as being created in God’s image. Graduates of Christian colleges model an integrated life of mind, body and spirit. They demonstrate skills to speak, write and think critically through issues that impact their world.”

More information about Lilly Endowment Inc. can be found on its website.

More information about Huntington University can be found on the school’s website.