Office of Strategic Communications & Marketing

Augustana University has recently been awarded a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for the “promotion and support of religious, educational or charitable purposes.” Augustana is one of 48 recipients in Lilly Endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life 2025.

With support from Lilly Endowment, Augustana will launch a 5-year storytelling initiative, “Sacred Discoveries: Stories of Christian Flourishing in College.”

In Fall 2024, the Office of Faith & Spiritual Life pitched embarked on a new initiative in coordination with Augustana Athletics — a Team Chaplains Program — with the purpose of “further integrating spiritual well-being into the lives of student-athletes and coaches. Now that a more intentional relationship between the Office of Faith & Spiritual Life and Athletics has begun, they hope it strengthens over time.

Augustana University student-athletes are not only excelling on the playing field, they’re getting it done in the classroom. In Academic Year 2024-25, three Augustana University student-athletes — Ella Bakken ‘25, Liz Dierks ‘25 and Ryan Hartman ‘24 — earned NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships, which recognize the association's most accomplished student-athletes.

Since 2018-19, Augustana is tied for the most scholarships won (11 in total) compared to all schools in NCAA Division II and ranks in the top 10 among all NCAA schools nationwide.