The Emerging Scholars Blog

In the last Week in Review, I highlighted The Faculty of the Future:  Leaner, Meaner, More Innovative, Less Secure (Forum, Chronicle of Higher Education, 7/10/2009).  You may remember, I’ve asked a business professor to comment on the piece.  The faculty member graciously offered some time while writing a grant proposal, wrapping up a paper to be sent out (the 6th one of the summer), grading the exams and papers from an international class, summarizing of Business School IT/New Media innovation projects, handling some administrative issues for a conference, and briefly reflecting on how neither of us works as hard as our wives ;-)   For his thoughts on the material written by ANTHONY T. GRAFTON and PETER N. STEARNS visit Week in Review.  Next week we’ll conclude with TIMOTHY CARMODY and JOSEPH C. HERMANOWICZ.

Before turning to professor’s comments, I’d like to share that I’m not surprised that the research university model has taken us to a grant money approach (collective, entrepreneurial bureaucracy) where faculty/administrators must Show me the money.  It would seem to me that mentoring/discipling students in the ethics of securing/using such money would be of significant value and lead to the value of applying lessons learned from history, literature, philosophy, pyschology, sociology, etc.  But I went to a liberal arts college ;-)

In addition, the pressure to Show me the money is not just within the organization, but incoming students call for high job placement (undergraduate and graduate/professional schools).  Job acquisition and maintenance involves not just strong training in one’s field but also good communication skills, another humanities offering worth the investment. … All the more necessary in a difficult economic time such as we’re currently in/entering.  What do you think?  In the future, I’ll return to the history/philosophy of the research university.  But now let’s turn to a few insights offered by my faculty friend. … Read the rest of this entry »

The deadline for preliminary proposals for the Christian Scholars Foundation’s Grant to Advance Christian Scholarship is almost here. This grant seeks to encourage and support Christian junior faculty in their efforts to integrate their faith with their academic endeavor. Past grants have supported research, writing, and teaching projects in a wide range of disciplines. Submit your C.V. and Executive Summary to the CSF by March 31 – next Tuesday. For full details, see the grant information on the ESN website below.

Link: http://www.intervarsity.org/gfm/esn/news/2009-csf-esn-grant

Though it is for journalists, and not academics per se, this is still a very cool opportunity. The Religion Newswriters Association is offering scholarships up to $5,000 for journalists and editors to study religion at any accredited college, university, or seminary. Here are the full details. If you are eligible, I encourage you to apply, and if you are not eligible, I encourage you to pass along the information to your favorite neighborhood journalist or editor.

(HT: Getreligion.org, which is an excellent site about the media’s coverage of religion.)

On the main ESN website, I have just posted information about the 2009 Grant to Advance Christian Scholarship, an annual grant program of the Christian Scholars Foundation. The grants are awarded to junior faculty who are members of ESN, to encourage them in the effort to integrate Christian faith and academic endeavor.

We are very grateful to work with the Christian Scholars Foundation in this endeavor. Please take a view moments to review the grant information – it may be well worth your time!

For this year’s grant application, click here.

For a list of past grant recipients (and brief descriptions of their projects), click here.

Here’s a good opportunity to help you finish your Ph.D.: The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. From their website:

The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships are designed to encourage original and significant study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences, and particularly to help Ph.D. candidates in these fields complete their dissertation work in a timely manner. In addition to topics in religious studies or in ethics (philosophical or religious), dissertations appropriate to the Newcombe Fellowship competition might explore the ethical implications of foreign policy, the values influencing political decisions, the moral codes of other cultures, and religious or ethical issues reflected in history or literature.

Each one-year fellowship is worth $24,000, and you must be planning to submit your Ph.D. or Th.D. by summer 2010. The deadline is November 14, so you need to apply soon.

Link: Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (HT: Gail Neal at Biola, via Stan Wallace)

ESN scholarships are now available for undergraduates who are attending Following Christ 2008 and the ESN Day Ahead. There are a limited number available, but this is a great opportunity for undergraduate ESN members looking for ways to attend Following Christ. Even if you are not an undergrad, I bet you know a few who are considering an academic vocation, and who could benefit from these scholarships.

Full details can be found here.

Just a quick note that the initial deadline for the Bosscher-Hammond Prizes is only one week away. These prizes will recognize projects that integrate faith, life, and learning, and that demonstrate how academia and the professions can contribute to human flourishing. Twenty-six finalists will receive free registration to Following Christ 2008, and three winners will receive $2,000.

To put that in perspective, that’s enough for a MacBook Air and an iPod Nano, because, um, you need cool stuff like that to finish your Ph.D. Or, it’s enough for a family of four to go to Disney World for week because, after all, what better way to celebrate your Ph.D. in aerospace engineering than dozens of rides on Space Mountain?

This is a great opportunity for Christians pursuing graduate education. The Harvey Fellows, an initiative of the Mustard Seed Foundation, provides annual stipends of $16,000 (renewable for up to 3 years!) for Christians pursuing graduate education in fields in which Christians are underrepresented. (Note: they include “research, teaching, and administration at premier colleges and universities” as one of these fields, so most ESN members will qualify.) The Harvey Fellows also target students in programs that are recognized as among the “top five” in their discipline, and you can either be in or applying to a graduate program.

The deadline for this year’s application is November 1. Also, if you have an old application sitting in your file cabinet, the Harvey Fellows now require you to submit an on-line application, so visit their website to start the process.