FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The University of Saint Francis received a grant of $862,346 from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its initiative, Indiana Youth Programs on Campus. Representatives say the grant will help USF launch its Discovery Academy to produce robust, academic-focused summer camps.
Lilly Endowment designed the initiative to help Indiana colleges and universities to engage youth, ages 5 to 18, in high-quality, on-campus enrichment programs that can help young people envision a future for themselves in college.
Representatives from USF released the following:
“The awarding of the Lilly Endowment grant allows the University of Saint Francis to create the Discovery Academy and continue to enhance our summer camp programming for young people throughout northeast Indiana,” USF President Rev. Dr. Eric Albert Zimmer said. “We thank Lilly Endowment for supporting USF’s commitment to promoting the benefits of higher education to the next generation of students.”
The USF Discovery Academy will consist of a series of discipline-focused camps that foster the academic interests of students. All camps will offer hands-on activities and exposure to the career options available in the discipline. Additionally, the USF Discovery Academy will also offer a leadership workshop that will support a peer-mentor program and teach students to become leaders within their schools and communities.
Summer camps that are currently offered through USF will be integrated into the USF Discovery Academy. USF will offer parents opportunities to attend free workshops focused on college preparation. Lilly Endowment funds will help USF develop new programming and a recognizable, branded identity for the USF Discovery Academy, to reach a more diverse, traditionally underserved population.
Lilly Endowment launched the initiative, in part, to respond to the significant decrease in the number of Hoosiers pursuing higher education degrees. In 2015, 65% of Indiana high school graduates went immediately to college. The straight-to-college rate has dropped steadily since. In 2020, only 53% of Hoosiers attended college the year after high school. Goals for the initiative include increasing the number of Indiana youth who obtain valuable postsecondary degrees and credentials and to help schools strengthen how they recruit students, especially students who have been traditionally underserved by higher education institutions.
