Programs examining diversity, ministerial education, urban ministry and student-faculty exchanges will be supported by the 2002 College/University Grants, the Division of Higher Education announced at its recent board meeting.

For 20 years, College/University Grants have funded special projects at undergraduate institutions related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) that will benefit both the institution and the church as a whole. Funds for the grants are provided by the colleges and universities themselves, who put a portion of the money they are allocated from general denominational funding into this special fund. Including this year's proposals, the program has funded 77 projects. Each institution in covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has received a grant during the program's history.

"College/University Grants are exciting because they show the creativity of the faculty, students, and administrators on campuses, but they also demonstrate the importance of the relationships between the colleges and universities and the church," said DHE President Dennis Landon. "These grants have been instrumental in developing programs that will nurture future leaders for the church and enrich the educational experience for students at Disciples-related colleges and universities."

This year, almost $40,000 will be divided among four Disciples-related colleges and universities: Culver-Stockton College, Drury University, Jarvis Christian College, and Lynchburg College. In addition, Eureka College and Lexington Theological Seminary, as well as a St. Louis congregation, are involved in projects funded by this year's grants. New grants are made each spring by the DHE Board of Directors following applications submitted by the schools.

• Complementing a grant issued last year, Jarvis Christian College in Hawkins, Texas, will exchange faculty, students, and staff with Eureka College in Illinois for periods of up to four months. This exchange will provide unprecedented learning and multi-cultural activities for members of both campuses. The project will also provide an opportunity for inter-racial dialogue and building relationships.

• The Diversity Center at Drury University will host "Diversity and the Disciples Related College/University" during the fall of 2003. The three-day conference aims to gather academic leaders, student development personnel, chaplains, professors, and students on Drury's campus in Springfield, Mo. The conference aims to help church-related universities and colleges acknowledge the increasing diversity already present on their campuses, to nurture more diversity in education, and to explore the opportunities and challenges diversity brings to church-related institutions.

• Students from Culver-Stockton College, located in rural Canton, Mo., will go to the big city as part of a partnership with Union Avenue Christian Church, an inner-city church in St. Louis. Students and faculty from Culver-Stockton will work with the church's staff to reach out to the church's challenged neighborhood and to provide curriculum for the 2003-2004 academic year. Additional products of the partnership will include a seminar on service-learning at church-related institutions and a handbook on service-learning that can be used by other organizations wishing to start a similar service effort.

• Lynchburn College in Virginia will study the possibility of establishing a partnership with Kentucky's Lexington Theological Seminary to provide classes on the Lynchburg campus leading to a Doctor of Ministry degree. Several Disciples ministers in central Virginia who are unable to travel to a seminary have expressed their hope to earn advanced theological degrees at a Disciples-related theological institution. By gathering at Lynchburg, the seminary students will also gain the collegial relationships that are part of a Doctor of Ministry program. The grant will pay for the costs of performing the study.