Phase I

1998-2001
The founding of the Lantz Center for Christian Vocations with the assistance of a $437,000 grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Phase II

2002-2006
The creation of The Crossings Project through the PTEV initiative, with the assistance of a $l,498,799 grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.

Phase III Vocation Project

The work of the PHASE III Vocations Project at the University of Indianapolis extended from July 1, 2006 thru June 30, 2009. This set of programs was funded by a $500,000 matching grant from the Religion Division of Lilly Endowment, Inc. Michael G. Cartwright directed this project. Four other campus leaders helped administer the programs. Cindy Tyree, Jennifer Horner, Paul Gabonay, and Kory Vitangeli worked with Cartwright on the Executive Committee.

On-Campus Programming:

• During the three years of the project, The Christian Vocations Program Initiative continued to operate at approximately the same level achieved during the Crossings Project phase of our theological exploration of vocations work.
• The Student Leadership Development Initiative also operated at and above the levels we had hoped.
• The Faculty & Staff Vocation Exploration and Formation programs have also continued to be successful.

Community Partnerships Programming:

• In addition to completing the "pilot project phase" of the Wesleyan Connexion Project, we laid the groundwork for the next two-year cycle of summer institutes for United Methodist seminarians for the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church.
• The Africana Spirituality Initiative UIndy hosted the final Gathering of the African-American Sages (Nov. 18, 2008). In April 2009, we unveiled the Sankofa Circle of Sages, a display that honors the seven persons whose lives we honored during the five years of that initiative. [insert bio material and photo from the final program bulletin]

Sustainability of PHASE III Programs:
We are proud to report that we achieved our sustainability goals for our on-campus programs for students:

• As of July 1, 2009, the University of Indianapolis funds all continuing programs that were previously administered through the PHASE III Vocations Project. These programs are administered by the director of the Lantz Center for Christian Vocations and other staff of the Ecumenical & Interfaith Programs Office.
• We raised more than $500,000 for scholarships for the United Methodist Youth Leader Scholarships. Drawing on these financial resources and other endowed funds, UIndy is now fully responsible for the UMYL scholarship program.
• Thanks to the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Wesleyan Connection Project is also now a self-sustaining program of the Indiana Conference Board of Ordained Ministry.

Project Achievement Statistics