     |
Centre student wins undergraduate paper award from American Academy of Religion
RELEASED: March 23, 2006
 |
| Nathan French |
DANVILLE, KY—"The religion of Al Qaeda's Jihad," written by Nathan French, a senior religion major from Louisville, was named the best undergraduate paper at the Southeast Commission for the Study of Religion (SECSOR), the regional meeting of the American Academy of Religion, which was held at the Marriott Century Center in Atlanta the weekend of March 10-12.
French attended the conference with Ruben Dupertuis, visiting assistant professor of religion, who was presenting a paper on the characterization of the early Christian leaders as philosophers. "This is a great honor for Nathan and well deserved," says Dupertuis. "The SECSOR conference only devotes one session to undergraduate papers, so getting his paper accepted was already impressive. Getting the award was the icing on the cake."
"I had no idea the award even existed," says French, who learned he had won just as he arrived for the opening ceremony. "Dr. Dupertuis and I had just arrived after driving all day, and I was wearing a wrinkled shirt and jeans while everyone else was in suit and tie. Suddenly, someone was calling out 'Is Nathan French here?'"
"Nathan has become a very accomplished scholar, and I'm glad to see that he's receiving well deserved credit," says W. David Hall, assistant professor of religion and philosophy, who was French's faculty mentor for his John C. Young Scholars symposium. "The paper that he gave at SECSOR is a spin-off of his John C. Young paper on the development of the doctrine of jihad in Islamic history. The work is timely, and Nathan's take on the issue is remarkably sophisticated. The award is evidence of this."
French plans to attend graduate school next year. He has been accepted at the University of Chicago, the University of Virginia and Washington University. His spring break plans include a visit to the latter school's campus in St. Louis.
- end -
Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/
For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.
Communications Office
Centre College
600 W. Walnut Street
Danville, KY 40422
Public Information Coordinator: Telephone 859-238-5714