POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP PAUSED
The Lilly Postdoctoral Fellowship at Valparaiso University, which began in 1992 and has seen 85 Fellows in residence, has been placed on pause for the present. This has been a life-giving program for the Fellows, Valparaiso University, the Lilly Network, church-related higher education, and academe more broadly. Indeed, Fellows of the program now work at the highest levels of scholarship, teaching, and administration in this sector.
When Founding Director Mark Schwehn originally conceived of this program as a way to test his ideas in Exiles from Eden—to see if considering the academic vocation while focusing on teaching within an ecumenical, interdisciplinary community might not only impact scholars at this critical stage in their formation but might indeed be a catalyst for institutional transformation—we doubt he could have imagined the impact it has had. While we are sad to see this program on pause, we nevertheless celebrate its ongoing impact.
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
Lilly Postdoctoral Fellowships were established as two-year residential fellowships for teacher-scholars seeking to renew and enrich their intellectual and professional lives while preparing for careers at church-related institutions of higher learning. Each academic year, new appointments were granted for up to three Fellows, who were appointed for two-year periods. The program was fully ecumenical, involving Fellows from a wide variety of faith traditions.
Fellows were selected from applicants interested in the relationship between Christianity and the academy and seeking a career at a church-related college or university. Fellows were in residence at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana.
RECENT POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS
2024-2026 FELLOWS
Ann Marie Jakubowski
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE
BA, University of Notre Dame, 2015 MA, Villanova University, 2017 PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, 2024
Dissertation: Towards a Poetics of Conversion: Religion, Modernism, and Literary Form
Current Appointment: Visiting Assistant Professor, Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts Program, Purdue University
Ludwig Noya
RELIGION (HEBREW BIBLE AND ANCIENT ISRAEL)
BTh, Universitas Advent Indonesia, 2014
ThM, Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Indonesia, 2015 MTS, Boston University, 2018 MA, Vanderbilt University, 2021 PhD, Vanderbilt University, 2024
Dissertation: Rest as a Site of Struggle: Reconsidering Sabbath Narratives in the Hebrew Bible
Current Appointment: Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible, Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University
2022-2024 FELLOW
Jacob Torbeck
THEOLOGY
BA, Greenville University
MA, Aquinas Institute of Theology
PhD, Loyola University Chicago
Dissertation: Turn Not Thine Eyes: Holy Faces and Saving Gazes in Mystical and Liberation Theologies
Current Appointment: Sisters of St Francis Endowed Chair in Theology, Briar Cliff University
2021-2023 FELLOWS
Abigail Gomulkiewicz
HISTORY
BA, University of St Andrews and College of William & Mary
MPhil, University of Cambridge
PhD, University of Cambridge
Dissertation: The Value of Dress in the Cecil Household (c.1550-1612)
Current Appointment: Assistant Professor of History, Grove City College
Amanda Ruud
ENGLISH LITERATURE
BA, Biola University
MA, University of Connecticut
PhD, University of Southern California
Dissertation: Shakespeare’s Speaking Pictures
Current Appointment: Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities and Literature, Christ College, Valparaiso University
PROGRAM DISTINCTIVES
Vocational Community & Mentorship
Fellows participated in weekly meetings as part of a two-year colloquium program led by Senior Fellows from Valparaiso University and invited scholars from other institutions.
Each Fellow was mentored over the course of two years by a senior faculty member from the Fellow's discipline or Christ College, the Honors College. These mentors assisted with pedagogy, publishing goals, teaching techniques, and integration into the overall sphere of church-related higher education.
Valuable Experience
The Postdoctoral Fellowship offered essential teaching experience and participation in departmental and university communities. In addition, Fellows also benefited from provided time to hone their writing talents and generate publications based on their research interests. Teaching in Christ College allowed them to gain fundamental experience in General Education and the teaching of writing.
National Promotion
In addition to job market assistance from Lilly Network staff, Fellows were introduced to the wide range of the Lilly Network’s Campus Representatives. This provided the opportunity to develop contact with faculty and administrators who could provide advice, assistance, and advocacy in the search for permanent academic positions.