Four students receive campus ministry scholarships
May 27, 2008 | FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)
|
Angela Current-Felder
|
Four campus ministers doing advanced graduate work are the recipients of
the annual Bishop James C. Baker Graduate Awards, offered by the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
The agency awarded a total of $15,000 in scholarships to the four recipients through its Office of Loans and Scholarships.
The Bishop James C. Baker Graduate Awards are for clergy serving in a
campus ministry/chaplaincy who have a master’s of divinity degree or
its equivalent, are interested in improving their skills as a campus
minister in higher education through advanced study, and expect to
remain in campus ministry.
"Campus ministers and chaplains play a critical role in the
development of future leaders for the church and the world," said
Angella Current-Felder, executive director of the Office of Loans and
Scholarships. "Often, a campus minister is the sole connection to church
for a young adult who is away at college. These awards offer an
opportunity for advanced training and study to those campus ministers
and chaplains who plan to continue working on campuses."
Newly announced recipients are:
- Tanya Bennett, a first-time recipient of the
Baker award and a prior recipient of the Esther Edwards award. She is in
the dissertation phase of her doctoral program in sociology of religion
at the Graduate Division of Religion at Drew University in Madison,
N.J. An elder in full connection in the Greater New Jersey Annual
(regional) Conference, Bennett is appointed to serve Drew University
full-time in the role of chaplain to the university.
- William Finnin, a four-time Baker award recipient, has
served for 28 years as senior chaplain and minister to the university at
Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He is pursuing a doctorate in
practical theological and ethical issues related to Christian
inclusivism within a campus setting.
- Robert Hicks, a renewal recipient of the Baker award, is
director of the Wesley Foundation at Washington State University. He is
pursuing a doctorate in leadership studies at Gonzaga University and
lives in Colfax, Wash.
- Alice Knotts, a former Baker recipient, is on the board of
directors and assists as campus minister for the Wesley Foundation at
San Diego State University. She is pursuing an independent study to
research and discern directions for campus ministry. Much of this
research will be collected at the Third Global Conference of University
and College Chaplains and Campus Ministers and Religious Professionals
meeting in July in Tampere, Finland.
The late James C. Baker began a campus ministry in 1913 for college
students attending the University of Illinois and named it the "Wesley
Foundation." The ministry later became the model for denominational
ministry at public universities across the United States.
Information about educational scholarships and loans in The United
Methodist Church can be found at www.gbhem.org; by contacting the Office
of Loans and Scholarships, P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007;
or by calling (615) 340-7344 about scholarships and (615) 340-7346 about
loans.
News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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