Posted on February 26, 2011

Lilly Endowment Announces 2011 Teacher Creativity Fellows

The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment has announced the selection of a hundred and twenty Indiana educators for its 2011 Teacher Creativity Fellowships.

Launched in 1987, the program enables teachers, principals, guidance counselors, and school librarians from Indiana to take time during the summer to pursue personal interests, explore subjects that interest them, or reenergize before returning to the classroom in the fall. Since its inception, the program has awarded fellowships to 2,322 Indiana educators.

The $8,000 grants will allow recipients to engage in a range of activities, including climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, running a half-marathon, going on a safari in Tanzania, and riding the Trans-Siberian Railroad across three countries and eight time zones. This year, recipients will visit at least thirty states and forty countries.

"Among other things, good teaching also requires a high degree of energy and motivation," said Lilly Endowment vice president for education Sara B. Cobb. "We regularly hear that these renewal experiences have helped hard-working Indiana educators regain their enthusiasm for their profession."