
Lilly Project
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97301
503-370-6213 voice
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
The Lilly Project for the Theological, Spiritual and Ethical Exploration of Vocation is a university-wide program dedicated to helping students to engage the larger questions of meaning and purpose, and to discern their vocation -- their calling in life. Funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Lilly Project is embedded in the intellectual and residential life of the university, offering opportunities for members of the community to consider issues of vocation, service, meaning-making and life choices through a variety of academic and co-curricular programs.
Vocation, as we are using it in the context of the Lilly Project at Willamette, does not mean strictly religious vocations; neither does it refer to building a skilled workforce. Rather, it means the way in which we live out our passions in the world, the way in which our values, our commitments and our beliefs are embodied in our choices about work, about family, about our political and social lives. Exploring vocation means talking about engaging the larger questions of meaning and purpose, questions that, we hope, inform students’ decisions and shape their lives, both during their time here and after graduation. We are talking about vocation in the context of a liberal arts education, one that opens up choices and options, one that teaches students how to think critically, inquire freely, lead wisely, serve generously and live with integrity.
Since it began in 2002 Lilly Project at Willamette has opened up opportunities for members of the University and wider Salem communities, including:
Students at Willamette are able to expand their opportunities for service, in three ways:
Students are able to test a theological vocation in a number of ways:
Students are able to explore issues of vocation through research and reflection through:
Faculty have been invited to engage in these issues in a number of ways:
The Lilly Project at Willamette University is governed by an Advisory Board of faculty, students and administrators, and is administered by the Associate Chaplain.
2009-10 Lilly Advisory Board
Nathaniel Córdova - associate professor of rhetoric and media studies
Carissa Deethardt - Class of 2010, College of Liberal Arts
David Douglass - interim dean, College of Liberal Arts, and professor of rhetoric and media studies
David Gutterman - assistant professor of politics
Lisa Holliday - interim co-dean of Campus Life and director of Student Activities
Ann Nicgorski - professor of art history and archaeology
Annie Russell - university registrar
Charlie Wallace - university chaplain and associate professor of religious studies
The Lilly Project at Willamette is only one of 88 programs for the theological exploration of vocation at church-related colleges and universities throughout the United States. For more information about these programs, go to http://www.ptev.org.