Lilly Endowment funding marks ‘transformative’ moment for DePauw, Greencastle
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Administrators at DePauw University recognize they have a chance to make a lasting impact in the coming years for both the college and the nearby town of Greencastle.
The small liberal arts college has an enrollment of just under 2,000 students, and Greencastle isn’t much larger at around 10,000 residents.
But thanks to a $32 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s College and Community Collaboration initiative, DePauw and Greencastle will move forward with a new mixed-use district on the northern edge of DePauw’s campus to better connect the college to the rest of the town.
“There is no question this is a transformative investment in a rural town of under 10,000 people,” said Andrea Young, DePauw’s vice president for finance and administration. “This is going to change the landscape of our community. It’s going to enhance our economic vibrancy and vitality in ways we cannot yet anticipate.”
The grant is part of $300 million in total that Lilly awarded earlier this month to colleges and universities throughout the state, though the $32 million going to DePauw is the largest single amount given out.
DePauw Vice President for Institutional Equity Dionne Jackson told Inside INdiana Business the university has four main goals with the grant money:
- Build a mixed-use development along Seminary Street that includes a public square for community events
- Establish a business incubation fund connecting local entrepreneurs and business professionals to university resources
- Build a new aquatics center at the local YMCA
- Redesign/improve streetscape around the Putnam County Courthouse and on Indiana Street with an eye toward pedestrian safety and better event capacity
The Lilly grant will cover about a third of the cost, so Jackson said the town of Greencastle will work with the university to supply the other $70 million needed to complete all stages of the project.
Jackson said DePauw has made it a priority as an institution to work with Greencastle on public improvement projects. Some of that work dates back over a decade when Greencastle was awarded the state’s first Stellar Pathways grant for rural communities. That partnership continued when the university last year used a $250,000 grant to help plan the projects that the more recent Lilly grant now make possible.
“A better Greencastle is a better DePauw,” Jackson said. “DePauw is situated within this wonderful, small rural community and the reality is any gains for our city are gains for DePauw University. We see that as important.”
Young said the four main projects were selected after working with the city and gathering feedback from the Greencastle community. Above all, Young said, housing is an issue that affects everyone in the area.
“Greencastle as a whole is facing a significant housing shortage and that is stymieing the economic growth and development across our entire community,” Young said. “For DePauw specifically, yes we see challenges in hiring faculty and staff. When we can hire faculty and staff who want to live in the community, they can’t find housing — they end up having to commute.”
Jackson said university and city officials will continue to plan for the rest of the summer. In October, there will be a showcase where the public can see the overall plans.