Scholarship and Mentorship Program for Religious and Theological Studies

I am writing to announce the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Religion and Faith Program’s Scholarship and Mentorship Program for Religious and Theological Study. This exciting program, which consists of an LGBT Dissertation Scholarship and a Summer Institute, will nurture and promote promising theologians and religious scholars working in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies. The application deadline for both the scholarship and summer institute is March 31, 2010. Will you help us spread the word about this opportunity to prospective students, colleagues, and student advisors?

As you know Americans look to their religious communities for moral guidance on LGBT issues. Many religious institutions, denominations, congregations, seminaries and schools of religion courageously provide people of faith with sound religious and scholarly frames for understanding of LGBT issues and religion. However, the most vociferous opposition to LGBT equality continues to come from religious leaders at great cost to LGBT families and to our country’s religious institutions.

We know that with a sustained investment in the next generation of religion scholars working on LGBT issues, we can change the national conversation about LGBT people and religion. HRC’s Scholarship and Mentorship Program is designed to be a catalyst for such change. Let me describe the two components a little further.

The LGBT Dissertation Scholarship provides a stipend of up to $15,000 for a doctoral student with an expressed interest in furthering LGBT religious and theological study. In addition to financial assistance, the scholarship includes mentoring opportunities and a network of colligate support to doctoral students advancing research on LGBT issues and theology. By aiding students working at the final stages of their dissertation, we will provide a student with the resources needed to complete their dissertations and to successfully move into a faculty position in a school of divinity, seminary, or university.

The Summer Institute is an intensive 5-day summer institute for up to 12 participants studying LGBT issues at the master’s and doctoral level. Working with prominent scholars and religion and public theologians, students will explore how their scholarship can fuel a new dialogue on LGBT equality and religion in their schools, seminaries, congregations and communities. This intensive summer institute runs from July 25-July 30 at Vanderbilt School of Divinity in Nashville, Tennessee. It will be taught by prominent LGBT religion scholars: Dr. Rebecca Alpert from Temple University and Dr. Ken Stone from Chicago Theological Seminary and will draw on in-person lectures from some of the most renowned theologians in the country.

Again, the application deadline for both the Dissertation Scholarship and the Summer Institute is March 31, 2010. Students will find application forms and further information on our website:www.hrc.org/religion.

If this program intrigues you and you would like to learn more about how your institution can partner with us further please contact me directly about becoming a sponsor.

Thank you for your support and your willingness to spread the word. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions, need further promotional materials, or are interested in learning more about how your institution can become a sponsor. I am also including a pdf of our postcard for the program. We can send hard copies at your request.

Sincerely,

Dr. Sharon Groves
Deputy Director, Religion and Faith Program &
HRC’s Scholarship and Mentorship Program Convener
http://www.hrc.org

HRC Program Postcard PDF (517kb) (view online)

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Brite Student Association