(Grand Rapids, Mich.) - Dr. John C. Pinheiro, professor of history and director of Catholic studies at Aquinas College, has been elected to a four-year term on the National Network Board (NNB) of the Lilly Fellows Program (LFP) in Humanities and the Arts. The LFP seeks to strengthen the quality, and shape the character, of church-related higher education. The NNB is comprised of twelve members who represent colleges from across the United States. Working directly with LFP staff, the NNB helps to develop new projects and activities, and to consider new directions for the LFP.

“It is a great honor to serve on the Lilly Fellows Program board,” said Pinheiro. “I’ve enjoyed working with this organization over the last few years, and am excited to continue this work as a board member. Representing Aquinas College, I know that I will bring a unique perspective to the national conversation while also bringing knowledge of larger scale trends back to Aquinas.”

Aquinas College joined the LFP network in 2009. In 2012, Pinheiro received a grant that allowed Aquinas to host the LFP's Summer Seminar for College and University Teachers. In a unique collaboration the seminar, "Teaching Peace and Reconciliation," was held at the Corrymeela Peace and Reconciliation Centre in Northern Ireland. As a part of this seminar, selected faculty learned about the contemporary divisions between the Catholic and Protestant communities.

“The opportunities that come through the Lilly Fellows Program, and the programmatic developments that result from being a part of this organization, provide great exposure for Aquinas and allow us to contribute on a national stage,” said Aquinas Provost, Dr. Gilda Gely. “As an expert in history and Catholic studies, John has extensive experience in these fields and will be an excellent addition to the board.”

Pinheiro joined Aquinas’ history department in 2004. In 2008, he developed and began directing Aquinas’ Catholic studies program. Pinheiro's publications include academic and popular articles on the early American republic. He has also written for the History News Service, and lectured for the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies and Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. In addition he has written two books, Missionaries of Republicanism: A Religious History of the Mexican-American War (Oxford University Press, 2014) and Manifest Ambition: James K. Polk and Civil-Military Relations during the Mexican War (Praeger, 2007).