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36 competitive grants in FY25 support mission-driven work across every discipline

In a ceramics studio on ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox's campus, students carefully repair broken tiles with gold, learning the Japanese art of kintsugi. The exercise teaches them about embracing failure, but it opens something deeper: conversations about brokenness and restoration, about living in a broken world while bringing healing and hope.

"What I thought was going to be a talk about failure and faith really became a bond amongst classmates," says Assistant Professor of Ceramics Tiffany Hokanson. "Students were craving connection through the process."

The kintsugi workshop was made possible by a microgrant from ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox's Program for Leadership & Formation, funded through a major grant from the Lilly Endowment and Wake Forest University’s Educating Charter Initiative. Bringing kintsugi to ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox students is one small example of what happens when faculty innovation meets strategic investment—and it's part of a much larger story about how grants are transforming the university's capacity to serve students and advance its mission.

A Record Year

In fiscal year 2025, ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox faculty secured 36 competitive grants totaling $2,895,984 in new funding. These grants bring resources and national recognition to mission-driven work across every discipline, from science research and healthcare training to faith formation and community engagement.

The grants range from small microgrants that spark creative teaching experiments to major multi-year awards that position ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox as a leader in faith-integrated education. "The diversity of these awards reflects the breadth and talent across our campus," says Leanna Smith, who oversees the university's foundation and government relations. "Our office sees these grants as a form of stewardship, connecting the visionary work of our faculty with partners like the Lilly Endowment and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust who want to see our students and communities flourish."

Major Grants Advancing the Mission

One of the largest grants in FY25 came from the Lilly Endowment: $500,000 for the Thriving Congregations Program, supporting and strengthening local churches through Portland Seminary. Led by Seminary faculty member Leah Payne, the program represents ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox's commitment to equipping pastors and church leaders across the region.

Another significant Lilly Endowment grant — $500,000 through Wake Forest University's Educating Character Initiative — launched far more than pottery workshops. Much of the funding went to support the First Year Experience, a pilot program that integrates holistic student formation the moment students arrive on campus. The eight-week program started with 90 freshmen this fall, building a model ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox can refine and scale in the years ahead.

In the sciences, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust awarded $70,000 for eye lens protein research, funding undergraduate and faculty discovery in the natural sciences. Led by Biology faculty member Micah Donor, the grant exemplifies ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox's commitment to rigorous scientific inquiry.

Yamhill Community Care provided $240,000 for bilingual mentorship projects serving the local community. Led by Social Work faculty members Erin Johnson and Yong Zheng, the culturally oriented mentorship demonstrates ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox's commitment to its neighbors.

When Small Grants Spark Innovation

But grants aren't just about large dollar amounts. Sometimes the most transformative work begins with modest funding that gives faculty permission to experiment.

Assistant professor Marvin Eans' also received a microgrant from the Program for Leadership & Formation, enabling his print packaging and design students to partner with Fresh Start Catering, the food distribution wing of Portland Rescue Mission. Students created custom packaging and branding that reflects Fresh Start's mission to "eat well, do good."

For Eans, who teaches art and design, the project reinforces his philosophy that design can be a vehicle for compassion and dignity. "It's powerful to watch them connect their artistic skills with a deeper sense of purpose and social responsibility," he says.

Eans' projects incorporate the university's call to engage the head, heart and hands in cultivating the whole person — uniting academic rigor, spiritual formation and service. His vision is to make service-integrated design a defining feature of the program. Current partnerships include Habitat for Humanity, Love INC, and the Philadelphia Dream Center.

Back in the ceramics studio, Hokanson's kintsugi workshop demonstrated the same integration. Students discussed 2 Corinthians 4:7 and applied it to living in a broken world while bringing healing and hope. As they repaired their ceramic tiles with gold, they opened up about their own imperfections and showed each other grace.

Mid-semester evaluations revealed a clear theme: students asked for more of this reflective work, where they're invited to talk about their faith in class.

"This has been a way to develop myself as a professor," Hokanson says. "We're all growing together. I see this having a ripple effect throughout my classes."

Building Momentum

The success continues into next fiscal year, with significant funding already secured. The National Science Foundation committed $343,333 for mathematics research led by faculty member Nicole Enzinger, advancing collaborative research in the field. The Austin Family Foundation awarded $149,221 to bring physical therapy and Spanish translation services to Virginia Garcia Health Clinic, led by Physical Therapy faculty member Becky Dobler.

These grants demonstrate ºìÐÓ¶ÌÊÓƵ Fox's capacity to compete for national funding while staying rooted in its mission. Every dollar secured represents not just financial support, but validation that faith-integrated education, rigorous research, and community engagement matter.

From kintsugi workshops to mathematics research, from nursing education to church revitalization, competitive grants are creating opportunities that wouldn't otherwise exist — opportunities that change student lives and strengthen communities.