Awards

Alan Segal Student Research Fund:

• Nina Havivi, for a multi-site trip to Christian museums for a project on religion and museum education.
• Athena Abadilla, for a trip to Hawaii for a project on indigenous Muslim communities of the Philippines.

Rennert Senior Thesis or Essay Prize:

• Kayla Levy for her senior thesis in Urban Studies on the Jewish community of Harlem.

Rennert Research Fund in Jewish Women’s Studies:

• Pamela Brenner, a Yiddish Studies major, who will be traveling to Belarus and Israel in order to do research on the Yiddish and Hebrew writer whose pen name was "Shomer." Pammy will be visiting libraries, archives, and scholars in Jerusalem and in Minsk, Belarus.
• Kara Fleishhacker, Religion major,  who will be making a research trip to Charleston, SC, where she will be visiting libraries, historical societies, and synagogues in order to study 19th-century Jewish life in Charleston (which she plans to compare to Jewish life in the same period in San Francisco).   

The Alan Segal Student Research Fund can provide limited financial support for junior and senior Barnard Religion majors to pursue projects related to their research, especially senior theses. We welcome requests relating to travel and lodging, the acquisition or copying of books and other materials, fees for conferences, entrance to collections, performances, and the like. The Religion Department faculty considers these requests once in the fall and once in the spring.

To apply for a grant from the Segal Fund, please prepare a brief (1-2 page) statement describing your request and how it fits into your broader project. The proposal should include a clear statement about your research methodology. In addition, please include a formal, itemized budget. It is likely that the Segal Fund will only be able to provide partial support for your request. Please let us know how you might be able to supplement the Segal Fund grant to meet the full budget of your request (e.g., a Tow Travel Grant from the College; other grants; personal funds). If you have already incurred the expenses, these may be reimbursable. All reimbursements require original receipts.

Applications are due by 5 pm on Monday, April 1, 2019, for the spring competition. Please send your application with an itemized budget to Beth Berkowitz (bberkowi@barnard.edu), Religion Department Chair.

If you have any questions about the process or what might be covered by the Segal Fund, please discuss your proposal with your academic advisor in the department. 

Deadline: March 15, 2019.

A $5,000 prize will be awarded to a graduating Barnard senior who displays the highest standards of scholarship in Jewish Studies, followed by a public presentation of the research by the student and a celebratory reception. Professor Berkowitz is collecting senior thesis and essay submissions, due by March 15, 2019. Please send submissions to bberkowi@barnard.edu. The recipient will be selected by Professor Berkowitz and the Rennert Advisory Board and will be formally announced in early April. While details are still being finalized, we anticipate the award presentation and reception to tentatively take place on campus on April 16, 2019. In addition to the recipient and her guests, invitees include Barnard’s senior administration, Board of Trustees, and select faculty, including faculty members from the Rennert Advisory Board.

Deadline: April 1, 2019

This fund will support travel and research-related expenses to support promising research for the senior thesis. Candidates are being encouraged to apply in the spring of their junior year to seek support for travel that will take place during the summer between the junior and senior years. The awards will range from $2,500–$7,500. Please submit a proposal of no more than 500 words to bberkowi@barnard.edu. Describe the research project and the purpose to which you plan to put the fund, and include an anticipate budget of expenses. The recipient(s) will be selected by Professor Berkowitz and the Rennert Advisory Board.