PC Receives Lilly Network Grant for Faculty Development
This past October, The Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities awarded Providence College a $3,000 grant for the 2025–2026 academic year. This grant will support Robert “Bob” Pfunder, MTS, Associate Vice President for Mission and Ministry, in launching The Veritas Roundtable. This transformative initiative is aimed at strengthening the integration of faith and reason among Providence College faculty, providing a crucial space for deep engagement with the Catholic intellectual tradition. Through invited papers, interdisciplinary discussions, and critical reflections, faculty members will delve into themes that connect their academic expertise with the broader mission of a Catholic college.
Housed within Christ College, which is the interdisciplinary honors college of Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, the Lilly Network fosters thoughtful dialogue on church-related higher education and mission across its member schools. The Lilly Network, in conjunction with a generous grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., invited member institutions to submit proposals for their various grant opportunities and, as a member school, Providence College applied for the Small Grants program.
Pfunder will spearhead this initiative in close partnership with faculty and administrators from across the college. In November 2025, a cohort of faculty will participate in a day-long series of roundtable sessions. During these sessions, faculty will present and critically engage with guiding papers on selected themes. This program will enrich the intellectual life of Providence College by providing a distinctive space for faculty to integrate their training with the Catholic and Dominican identity of the college, while also fostering a vibrant community of scholars dedicated to the pursuit of truth.
The Veritas Roundtable will concentrate on three primary objectives: introducing the Catholic and Dominican intellectual tradition, forming capacity for interdisciplinary teaching and research on matters of faith and reason, and cultivating mission-oriented professional networks among faculty.
“I am grateful to the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities for this generous gift and am excited for this initiative to take off,” said Pfunder. “Our faculty contributions to this important work will leave a transformative impact on the life of our college.”
