Lilly Fellows program director named

Mon, November 2, 2009 |

Dr. Mark Schwehn, project director of the Lilly Fellows Program and provost of Valparaiso University, has announced the appointment of Dr. Joseph Creech as program director of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts (LFP) at the University. Dr. Creech succeeds Dr. John Steven Paul, who served as program director from 2005 until his death in July of this year. Working with Dr. Creech will be Kathy Sutherland, who has been named program coordinator of the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts.

"Professor Creech is ideally prepared to continue the great tradition of the Lilly Fellows program," Schwehn said. "He has been deeply involved with all aspects of the program for many years, and he really took the lead in developing and administering the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program, which has quickly become a major source of renewed energy and commitment within the LFP National Network of Church-Related Schools."

Dr. Mel Piehl, dean of Christ College, the honors college of Valparaiso University and home of the Lilly Fellows Program, said Creech has done an excellent job as acting LFP director.

"Dr. Creech has demonstrated his talents by helping launch the new Lilly Graduate Fellows Program," Dr. Piehl said. "He will advance the national LFP mission while also upholding the program's strong role within Christ College and at Valpo."

Dr. Creech will hold an appointment as adjunct associate professor of history and humanities in Christ College, where he has taught since 2000. An American historian, he has served as assistant LFP program director since 2006 and acting program director since July. Dr. Creech is the author of "Righteous Indignation: Religion and the Populist Revolution in North Carolina," and has published articles on American history, politics and religion in a variety of journals, including Church History and the Cresset.

Dr. Creech holds a bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina, a master's degree in Theological Studies from Duke University Divinity School and master's and doctorate degrees in history from the University of Notre Dame. Named as one of the "Young Scholars in American Religion" by the Center for American Religion and Culture, Dr. Creech also served as a program administrator for the Pew Scholars Program at the University of Notre Dame.

The Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts is the largest ecumenical organization that endeavors to renew and enhance the connections between Christianity and the academic vocation at church-related colleges and universities. It sustains an ongoing conversation about church-related mission through publications, conferences and programs through its network of 94 church-related schools. The program is identifying and promoting the next generation of leaders in church-related higher learning through its two-year residential postdoctoral fellowship at Valpo and the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program.

Since 2006, Sutherland has served as administrative assistant for the Lilly Fellows program. She received a bachelor's degree from Sterling College and a master's degree in college student development from Azusa Pacific College.

"Kathy has been involved at all levels in the strategic planning and implementation of our program initiatives," Dr. Creech said. "Her organizational and personal skills insure success, and in working with our graduate fellows across the country and with the postdoctoral fellows at Valparaiso University, she displays an irreplaceable spirit of grace and hospitality."

More information about the program can be found online at http://www.valpo.edu/christcollege/about/lillyfellows.php.