The Interdenominational Theological Center has received a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment that will be used to revise its academic program and to implement a hybrid model of education that combines in-person and online learning.
However, the larger aim of the grant is to prepare the kind of leaders the community needs who focused on social impact as a core part of their ministry and leadership, said President Matthew Wesley Williams.
The Atlanta-based ITC is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries. Those denominations include United Methodist, Christian Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal, Baptist and Church of God in Christ.
Williams has outlined plans for the future of the institution that included diversifying its board, which was also cut by half, revision of its bylaws and the overhaul of the executive leadership of the institution. Additionally, the school now has two consecutive years of operating surplus after years of being in the red.
Currently, ITC has 237 students, down from roughly 400 in the early 2000s, according to a previous article in The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment was formed to to support the causes of religion, education and community development.
The Tomorrow Initiative, of which this grant is a part, is a three-phase initiative launched this year. So far, the Lilly Endowment has made more than $82 million in grants to theological schools, ranging from $500,000 to $1 million.
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