Historic $17.5 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment to Build Intellectual Capacity at Tribal Colleges

The American Indian College Fund announced a historic grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. in February of 2007. The five-year, $17.5 million grant initiative, named Woksape Oyate, Lakota for “Wisdom of the People,” aims to build the intellectual capital of tribal colleges. The initiative will allow tribal colleges to tailor their programs to address their individual needs, while strengthening the entire tribal college system.

Through a multifaceted approach, Woksape Oyate will dramatically enhance recruitment, retention and development of tribal college faculty, staff, and students. Leadership development programs, increased fellowship, and sabbatical opportunities for staff and pipeline programs to bring the best and brightest students back to teach at their tribal college will all be developed during this initiative. Institutional capacity will also be enhanced by creation of development offices and recruitment of highly qualified faculty.

Click on the name of each tribal college to learn more about its initiatives under the Woksape Oyate project for the next five years, beginning in 2008.

Lilly Endowment is an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 be three members of the Lilly family—J.K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr. and Eli—through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. The Endowment is a separate entity from the company devoted to the causes of education, religion and community development. More information about the Endowment can be found at www.lillyendowment.org.

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