Exclusive Academic Program Honors Local Student

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Emily Wells

EMMITSBURG, MD (07/31/2013)(readMedia)-- Emmitsburg, Maryland – Mount St. Mary's University congratulates Emily Wells C '13 for her selection as a Lilly Graduate Fellow - 2013.  

The Lilly Graduate Fellows Program is a part of the national Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts that supports outstanding students who want to explore the connections among Christianity, higher education, and the vocation of the teacher-scholar.

"I am excited to participate in the Lilly Fellowship-I have the opportunity to learn from others who are also trying to grow as Christian teachers and academics," said Emily. "My Philosophy and Theology courses (at the Mount) taught me to use teachings of faith to reflect on current issues that I will address in my future research. Equally important were my interactions with Mount professors, who showed me by example what it means to be an academic as well as a person of faith." 

Emily, one of the sixteen Fellows selected by a nine-member selection committee who interviewed twenty-four finalists (selected from sixty applicants) in April, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Fellows will meet together for three days at an Inaugural Conference on July 30-August 1, 2013, in Indianapolis, Indiana, with their mentors, Jane Kelley Rodeheffer of Pepperdine University and Arlin Migliazzo of Whitworth University.  Following this Inaugural Conference, the Fellows will embark on a long-distance colloquium, engage in one-on-one mentoring relationships, and participate in the three additional conferences.  All sixteen are pursuing doctoral studies in humanities or the arts.

The Lilly Graduate Fellows Program is funded by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.  The program will select a total of six cohorts of graduate fellows from the current ninety-nine schools that make up the LFP national network of church-related schools.  Lilly Graduate Fellows participate in a three-year program in which they meet regularly with a mentor, attend four conferences, participate in a long-distance colloquium, and receive three annual stipends of $3000 ($9000 total) to use at their discretion. For more information on the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program, visit http://www.lillyfellows.org/.

The Valparaiso University-based Lilly Fellows Program began in 1991. Since its founding, the program has provided postdoctoral fellowships for teacher-scholars who seek to enrich their intellectual and spiritual lives while preparing for leadership roles in church-related higher education. 

Founded in 1808, Mount St. Mary's University is the nation's second oldest Catholic university. The Mount is rated in the top 25 Catholic universities in America as one of the most "Faithful and Affordable."