Report on 2024 Lilly Network National Conference
It was a great joy to see many of our colleagues at Westmont College recently for the annual Lilly Network National Conference and Workshop for Senior Administrators. We hope all attendees engaged deeply with the ideas presented and the people who attended, and returned to their home institutions feeling restored and hopeful.
Three plenaries were held during the National Conference. On the first day, Dr. Tricia Bruce, Director of Springtide Research Institute, presented the findings from an important new survey administered by Springtide during the 2023-2024 academic year to undergrads at Lilly Network schools. She also presented these findings at the immediately preceding Workshop for Senior Administrators. The point of the survey was to gather data to help understand students’ spiritual and intellectual development during college, and Dr. Bruce’s talk led us carefully into the nuances of Springtide’s concluding report on this research. We are pleased to share this report with you, available at our website: “Faith & College Life,” on the Lilly Network Survey on Student Spiritual and Intellectual Development. In addition, recordings of the plenaries themselves are now available - contact our office for further information.
The conference’s very rich second day (Saturday) included a keynote presentation by Dr. Steve Argue of Fuller Theological Seminary and the Fuller Youth Institute. Dr. Argue offered insights on some of some of the most salient transitions and challenges our students are facing now. Themes from the first two talks resurfaced in the third plenary, a panel discussion between student religious life experts Rev. Mindy Smith (Whitworth University), Fr. Martin Ngo (Loyola Marymount University), and Dr. Mike Ahn (Biola University), moderated by Westmont’s Dr. Steve Porter. This discussion provided insights into student concerns from the close-up, pastoral setting. These speakers were joined on Sunday morning by Dr. Lisa DeBoer (Westmont College) and Dr. John Schmalzbauer (Missouri State University) to respond to lingering questions and help us think about the implications of the conference presentations.
Friday’s Vespers service at Santa Barbara’s First Presbyterian Church included a moving premier performance of works composed for this occasion by Westmont’s Dr. Daniel Gee (a former Lilly Graduate Fellow). Dr. Gee conducted the Westmont choir and orchestra as well as the Xavier University of Louisiana choir, directed by Dr. John Ware, who was Dr. Gee’s mentor in the Graduate Fellows program. Dr. Ware and his choir happened to be “in the neighborhood,” as it were, and this collaboration came to fruition in a very short time. Their combined talents resulted in a truly remarkable and moving Vespers, and we were left wondering just how all this worked out so well. Another conference highlight was a Saturday afternoon trip to Old Mission Santa Barbara, where many conference participants attended Mass and/or explored the history and scenery present on the grounds and admired the beautiful views of the city.
We’re truly grateful for all the work that went into these events, and for the Network that made this possible. If you were unable to attend this year, please take a look at the materials linked above – and we hope to see you next year! Sacred Heart University, in Fairfield, Connecticut, will host the 2025 National Conference on October 31-November 2, 2025, focusing on the theme “The Christian Imagination in Higher Education.”