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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that in 2009 my organization will be launching the “E. Thomas Lawson Prize for Outstanding Pre-Doctoral Work in Religion, Cognition and Culture”, a paper competition for graduate students. The goal of this competition is to motivate, reward and showcase the excellent work being done by many young scholars in the field of religion, cognition and culture. Winning papers will be published as either an independent volume or as a special journal issue.
I am contributing USD $500 for the First Place award. I would like to offer cash awards for 2nd and 3rd Place, as well as a few Honorable Mentions and honoraria for the judges. For example, a $15,000 prize pool would look something like this:
First Place: $3,500
2nd Place: $2,500
3rd Place: $1,000
Six (6) Honorable Mention: $500 ea. ($3000)
Five Judges’ Honoraria: $1000 ea. ($5000)
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Total: $15,000
In support of this project, and ultimately in support of the academic endeavors we share, I would like to ask for contributions from you, my friends and colleagues in the scholarly community.
To contribute by mail, please send cheques to:
The Lawson Prize
c/o North American Science and Religion Foundation
75-105 Merle Dr. #600
Palm Desert, CA 92211
Please write “Lawson Prize” in the memo section of your cheque.
For the PayPal savvy, please send contributions to [log in to unmask].
To use a credit card, please go to www.soulbodybrain.com/?page_id=40 and click the “Donate” button.
In addition to individual contributions, please check to see if your university or academic society would be interested in sponsoring the competition. For institutional contributions in the $1000 to $5000 range, I would be pleased to list the donor as a Lawson Prize co-sponsor.
NASARF is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit/NGO in the United States, so contributions are tax-deductible for US taxpayers and possibly for those in other countries as well (please consult your relevant tax codes).
The competition will be open to graduate students at any university, worldwide. I will announce final prize amounts along with application instructions and deadlines in Spring of 2009. You may contact me at [log in to unmask] with any questions.
Many thanks,
Karen Wyman, Executive Director
North American Science and Religion Foundation
P.S. Tom is off the hook for contributions as he’s already lent his name. Thanks, Tom!