Students land 24 fellowships in 12 years.
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May 2019 – Four Drew Theological School students earned doctoral fellowships from the Forum for Theological Exploration.
Simeiqi He, Nikki Hoskins, Lisa Asedillo Pratt and Eric Thomas are among just 30 recipients nationally this year. Since 2007, 15 Theological School students have landed 24 such fellowships, with five earning more than one (see the full list below).
The fellowship provides stipends to doctoral students from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups who plan to teach religion, biblical studies or theology at theological schools in North America. In addition, honorees are invited to attend the Forum for Future Theological Educators, which this year will take place in California.
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“I am thrilled to see so many of our exceptional PhD students recognized as FTE Fellows,” said Meredith Hoxie Schol, director of doctoral studies at the Theological School. “Now a part of FTE’s 50-year legacy of recognizing, celebrating and supporting scholars of color, I too celebrate the work Nikki, Eric, Simeiqi and Lisa are doing and will continue to do as a result of this incredible opportunity.”
Kate Ott, associate professor of Christian social ethics, added that “these students exemplify the next generation of religious and theological studies. The support of FTE will further their contribution and expand their opportunities in ways that not only impact Drew, but contribute to a transformed academy.”
He, who described the fellowship as a “tremendous encouragement,” is studying religion and society. Her dissertation seeks to enrich Roman Catholic tradition and church teaching by articulating a Catholic moral theology of marriage that celebrates the spiritual-moral agency and vision of women—particularly Catholic women in the People’s Republic of China.
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Hoskins, who earned the fellowship for the third time, is concentrating on Christian social ethics. Her dissertation focuses on black women and eco-religious activism, environmental racism and how faith has helped activists mobilize.
Asedillo Pratt is a Christian social ethicist working at the intersections of Asian American Christian ethics, Philippine studies and postcolonial feminist theology. Her dissertation focuses on the pedagogical strategies of unlearning and communal innovation that was developed in the Philippines through the theology of struggle and ecumenical women’s movement of the 1970s-90s.
Thomas, a two-time recipient of the fellowship and interim pastor of Siloam Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, N.Y. is studying the New Testament and early Christianity. His research focuses on queers of color critique, which is emerging from the intersection of queer, critical race and women of color feminist theories.
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“The FTE community is an invaluable network of amazing colleagues and mentors who inspire and nurture my academic becoming,” Thomas said. “They remind me that the intellectual work we do has the capacity to influence lives.”
Previous Drew FTE Fellows
2018
Elyse Ambrose
Ericka Dunbar
Nikki Hoskins
June Hee Yoon
2017
Nikki Hoskins
2016
Ericka Dunbar
Erica Ramirez
Eric Thomas
2015
Dong Hyeon Jeong
2014
Erica Ramirez
2012
Jennifer Kaalund
Robert Wafula
2011
Tejai Beulah
Shanell Smith
Peter Mena
2010
David Evans
2009
Shanell Smith
2007
Lynne Darden
Shanell Smith
Sakena Young-Scaggs
