Antipodean Bahá’í Studies

The Association for Bahá’í Studies is receiving nominations for the “Patricia Locke Scholarship” and the “Awards for Excellence” to be awarded to individuals at the upcoming 31st Annual Conference, August 16-19, 2007 in Toronto, Ontario. At the Annual Conference held in Calgary, 3-6 September 2004, the Executive Committee announced the establishment of recognition awards in the categories (A) Established Scholars and (B) New Scholars.

The criteria for the award are based on the achievement of an individual who has best combined one or more of the following: (1) Contribution to Knowledge-The nominee’s achievements represent a significant contribution to knowledge in the field of Bahá’í Studies through publications, or courses; (2) Correlating the Bahá’í Teachings to Current Issues-Through study of the Sacred Text the nominee has been able to communicate insights or acted to improve conditions in his field; (3) Raising the Prestige of the Bahá’í Community-The nominee has been recognized by external agencies or institutions for excellence in academic or professional achievement; (4) Service to Scholarship-The nominee has performed significant service to promote the interests or development of Bahá’í scholarship in a considerable manner through dedication of effort or innovation.

Nominations are invited from individuals, institutions, or groups for the 2007 Awards for Excellence. All nominations must be accompanied by (1) a letter of recommendation addressing the category and the criteria for which the award is being given and (2) the nominee’s curriculum vitae, including a complete list of publications or a description of the individual’s works. The Patricia Locke Scholarship was announced at the 2002 Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies–North America in Mississauga, Ontario, in honour of Ms. Patricia Locke. The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage, support, and facilitate the attendance and participation of Native youth at the annual conference. The scholarship will provide financial assistance for a native youth to attend and, when possible, present at the ABS Annual Conference. The following criteria will be used to select the recipient of this scholarship. The candidate will: Be a Native Bahá’í residing in Alaska, Canada, or the United States. Will be 18–25 years old · Will have a keen interest in the work of the Association for Bahá’í Studies; · Will have demonstrated some element of contribution to learning, broadly defined 

The recipient of the scholarship will: Receive a waiver of the conference registration fees, as well as up to the equivalent of $500 US to assist with transportation, accommodations and per diem (travel and accommodation arrangements to be made by ABS office) Receive a certificate to accompany the scholarship Be invited to submit their presentation, if appropriate, to the Journal of Bahá’í Studies to be considered for publication Have their name announced in the ABS Bulletin Deadline for submission: 30 April 2007. Nomination forms from the Association