St. Thomas Magazine_Spring 2022

tiuntibus on the quad

NEW GRANT

INTERFAITH FELLOWS

Funded by a $100,000 grant through the Interfaith Leadership and Religious Literacy Program of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the programwill offer opportunities for approximately 15 student fellows over the course of the four-year pilot, which started in fall 2021. The fellows will complete coursework in the new theology minor in interfaith leadership, complete an internship with a community partner that engages religious diversity, and put their leadership skills into practice on campus and in the community. “The fellows will have opportunities to get off campus and put into practice the skills they‘ve learned through the program‘s various components, under the mentorship of professionals in the community who already do it day in and day out,“ said Hans Gustafson, PhD, director of the Jay Phillips Center for Interreligious Studies and the Interfaith Fellows Program.

Interfaith understanding is core to St. Thomas as a Catholic university. Now, through its inaugural Interfaith Fellows Program, St. Thomas will educate and prepare interreligious literate leaders who are better informed by how lived religious practices and beliefs shape the way people live, work and play together.

NEW SCHOLARSH I P

GETTING IN ‘GOOD TROUBLE‘ In an ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, the University of St. Thomas established the Good Trouble Legacy Scholarship to support undergraduate students whose identities are underrepresented at the university or whose studies focus on racial and social justice. The Good Trouble Legacy Scholarship was conceived in honor of George Floyd and U.S. Rep. John Lewis by a small group of BIPOC staff who are also St. Thomas alumni.

One $5,000 scholarship per year will be granted each spring to a selected undergraduate student after being reviewed by the award committee. Applicants are to be in good academic standing and in the spring semester of their junior year. They must demonstrate academic prowess, serve as role models for their peers, and be involved on campus or in the community related to issues that promote racial equity and inclusion. Initial funders included alumni Brad Pulles ‘08, Ryan Blake ‘09, Teron Buford ‘10, Codi Soeun ‘14 and Shanea Turner-Smith ‘14, all of whom are current or former staff or faculty.

S T T H O M A S . E D U

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