The Department of Religious Studies has held the Annual E.P. Adler Awards Luncheon in the spring semester for over 50 years. After three years of meeting virtually for this big event, we were thankful to be back in person to celebrate our wonderful students and faculty.
The E.P. Adler Awards Luncheon is held to honor the memory of E.P. Adler, one of the department's founders. This event was established and endowed through the generosity of the late Philip and Henrietta Adler, with ongoing support provided by the family of Lloyd and Betty Schermer.
We wish to thank Lloyd and Betty Schermer and all of our generous donors who give to the Department of Religious Studies. The department is honored to use some of these funds to award our bright and gifted students.
Congratulations to each one of our awardees, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!
2023 awardees
E.P. Adler Award
Established by Betty and Lloyd Schermer to honor Betty’s grandfather, E.P. Adler, one of the department’s founders, and awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student in the Department of Religious Studies.
Awardee
Osamamen Oba Eduviere: Osamamen was nominated by Dr. Kristy Nabhan-Warren, who commends Osamamen as our first PhD student to study African immigrant and refugee women through her research on how Nigerian people engage in homebuilding and placemaking in the Midwestern U.S. diaspora. Dr. Nabhan-Warren celebrates the new perspectives Osamamen offers in this intellectual effort to chart new territory.
E.P. Adler Award
Established by Betty and Lloyd Schermer to honor Betty’s grandfather, E.P. Adler, one of the department’s founders, and awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student in the Department of Religious Studies.
Awardee
Cuma Ozkan: Cuma was nominated by Dr. Morten Schlütter, who lauds Cuma for working on an important dissertation on Chinese discourses on Islam in 18th-century China. Using a sophisticated methodology, he is casting new light on how educated Chinese Muslims argued that Islam was perfectly compatible with Confucianism -and even in some ways completed it. Cuma is planning to defend his dissertation in the fall of 2023.
E.P. Adler Undergraduate Award
Established by Betty and Lloyd Schermer to honor Betty’s grandfather, E.P. Adler, one of the department’s founders, and awarded to a graduate or undergraduate student in the Department of Religious Studies.
Awardee
Sami Simon: Sami is a third-year religious studies minor, who has been an extremely active and inquisitive student in all her religious studies courses. This year she is in Intro to Buddhism (Morten Schlütter) as well as Modern Religion and Culture (Brandon Dean) where she has been making great contributions to the discussion.
Alice Marguerite Blough Award
Established in 1994 with a gift from the Estate of Alice Marguerite Blough in memory of her parents, Rev. Albert P. Blough and Estelle M. Blough, and awarded for the best graduate student research paper.
Awardee
Mark Hartsgrove Mooers: Mark was nominated by Dr. Morten Schlütter who was impressed by Mark’s extremely interesting and very well-researched paper entitled "Commerce and Law: How Islamic Economic and Legal Principles Transformed Malabar,” where he argues that significant socioeconomic and cultural forces convinced many people in Malabar, as well as in other parts of Asia, to convert to Islam.
John P. Boyle Award in Catholic Studies
Established in 1998 in honor of John P. Boyle who served as a professor in the Department of Religious Studies from 1972-98, and director from 1979-89. This award is given to a graduate or undergraduate student in religious studies, based on academic excellence and outstanding work in some area of Catholic Studies.
Awardee
Tucker Gregor: Tucker was nominated by Dr. Diana Cates, who writes, “Tucker Gregor is all-in with his PhD studies, and he is excelling in every way. He is co-advised by Dr. Nabhan-Warren and Dr. Cates. He is building a strong foundation for a dissertation that creatively integrates historical and ethnographic research on Catholic education with the ethical analysis of the sources and strategies that Catholic educators use for instilling moral values and emotional sensibilities in high school students.
Pres. and Mrs. Eugene Gilmore Scholarship
Established in 1985 to support the study of culture, humanistic values, and the quest for new symbols in contemporary culture. This award was named for Eugene Gilmore, past president of the University of Iowa and supporter of the department. This award is given to a doctoral student in religious studies who has an interest in the relationship of religion and culture, especially the visual arts.
Awardee
John Sheridan: John was nominated by Dr. Kristy Nabhan-Warren for his dissertation-in-progress, Hutterite Religion, Emotion, and Matter: How Hutterites ‘Dress’ and are ‘Dressed’ by their World, an ethnographic study of the Anabaptist religious community the Hutterites. John examines dress as a way to understand self and communal identification as well as a way to identify themselves apart from the rest of “the world.”
Helen Goldstein Undergraduate Research Paper/Project Award
This award was established in 2012 to honor Dr. Helen Goldstein, who specialized in medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy, and is given to the best undergraduate student research paper or project.
Awardee
Alice Doherty: Alice was nominated by Dr. Diana Cates who relates: “This is the best paper from my Happiness in a Difficult World, written by Alice Doherty who is a senior religious studies major. She is a returning student after a hiatus and has excelled. She shows some real “processing” of course readings and classroom discussion.
Alice Lampe Heidel and John B. Heidel Memorial Award
Established in memory of M. Willard Lampe, the founding director of the department and Mrs. Heidel's father; honors a graduate teaching assistant whose commitment to undergraduate teaching is evidenced by the outstanding performance of assigned teaching duties, and exceptional interest in and service to undergraduate students.
Awardee
Kefas Lamak: Kefas was nominated by Dr. Ahmed Souaiaia, who shared that Kefas was offered a position this spring assisting with two different courses as opposed to the usual one-class assignment. Kefas handled the situation with grace and professionalism. Most impressive was his ability to communicate with students in advance and clearly about the expectations and details of assignments.
Karl Hoffman Award
This award goes to an outstanding junior religious studies major who exhibits academic excellence, the strength of character, and a broad and conscientious concern for ultimate and spiritual questions.
Awardee
Evren Haluk Sasmazer: Evren was nominated by Dr. Paul Dilley who says, “Evren has a deep knowledge of and interest in the history of religions, especially Christianity, which he approaches with an eye to the continuity between ancient traditions on the one hand, and modern orthodoxy on the other. His perceptive comments have contributed a great deal to my Pagans and Christians course this spring, and his paper on the theology of martyrdom in John Chrysostom showed a very high level of interpretive ability. He plans to attend graduate school in religion after studying for a semester in Finland and graduating next year, and will no doubt have great successes as he moves forward in the discipline.”
Islamic Studies Award
This award is given to a graduate or undergraduate student who has done outstanding work in some area of islamic studies and exhibits academic excellence.
Awardee
Lauren Philips: Lauren was nominated by Dr. Ahmed Souaiaia who relates: “Lauren Philips is an honor student in international studies with emphasis on Islamic and Middle Eastern studies. She received the study abroad award and spent a year in Jordan where she continued her study of the Arabic language and worked on her Honors which focused on Qatar’s Use of Aljazeera as a Public Diplomacy Platform in the Case of Yemen. Lauren is graduating this May and plans to pursue graduate and/or professional degrees.”
M. Willard Lampe Scholarship Fund
Established in 2016 to honor the first Director of the School of Religion, this scholarship will fund a graduate student whose scholarship is likely to engage the public in ways that recognize and acknowledge diverse religious beliefs and foster religious tolerance.
Awardee
Carlos Ruiz Martinez: Nominated by Dr. Jenna Supp-Montgomerie who says, “I had the pleasure of nominating Carlos Ruiz Martinez, who, in addition to writing an important dissertation about the relationships among religious organizations and immigration policy and authority in the United States, also works as the Director of Immigrant Services for St. Francis Community Services in St. Louis, where he oversees bilingual mental health services and case management, the operation of their afterschool youth program, and their Vietnamese Health Clinic. He walks the talk and meaningfully applies his insightful scholarship in the world.
Barbara W. and Rex Montgomery Award
Prof. Rex Montgomery was a long-time supporter of the department and past president of the Advisory Board. This award is given to a graduate or undergraduate student in religious studies based on academic merit.
Awardee
Andrea Scardina: Andrea was nominated by Dr. Diana Cates. The Department of Religious Studies is the home of the Journal of Religious Ethics, which is co-edited by Diana Cates and Irene Oh of George Washington University. Andrea has completed a two-year term as the inaugural Editorial Assistant of the journal, and the editors are grateful for her leadership and practical know-how. She is a valued peer mentor in the department and is currently training Tucker Gregor to be the next Editorial Assistant.
Barbara W. and Rex Montgomery Award
Prof. Rex Montgomery was a long-time supporter of the department and past president of the Advisory Board. This award is given to a graduate or undergraduate student in religious studies based on academic merit.
Awardee
Sara Mozena: Nominated by Dr. Hyaeweol Choi who relates: “Sara was in my "Food, Body and Belief: A Global Perspective" (Fall 2022). From the beginning, Sara stood out as mature, considerate, and attentive. She was one of the most enthusiastic students in the class, absorbing information and concepts like a sponge. She also actively participated in small group discussions, enriching the learning practice for everyone. She is a critical thinker with sophisticated analytic skills, and she is a wonderful writer, weaving personal thoughts and experiences with broad structural issues."
Rev. Louis P. Penningroth Scholarship
Established by Rev. Penningroth's wife to honor her husband, this award goes to a graduate student who demonstrates concern for fellow students through her or his teaching practices and skills as a mentor.
Awardee
Kaity Lindgren-Hansen: Kaity was co-nominated by Dr. Diana Cates and Dr. Jenna Supp-Mongtomerie, who stepped in to teach Hard Cases in Health Care at the Beginning of life independently at the department’s request. There was no question that she would do an excellent job; she is a very thoughtful, talented teacher who creates a wonderful classroom environment. Her exceptional research and outsized efforts to promote supportive intellectual life among our graduate students and in the Iowa City community have enriched our department and the city around us.
Sonia Sands Scholarship Award
This scholarship was established in 1982 from donations to honor Sonia Sands, housemother of the Phi Epsilon Pi Fraternity for over 20 years. The award recognizes talented students in the area of Jewish studies.
Awardee
Jacob Martin: Jacob was nominated by Dr. Jay Holstein, who relates, “Jacob’s performance in Quest for Human Destiny in the Fall of 2022 was one of the finest performances I have ever seen, including the submission of an absolutely superlative paper.”
Charles Schoen Interfaith Scholarship Award
This scholarship honors the late Charles Schoen, who served on the department’s Advisory Board for eleven years. The award is given to an undergraduate religious studies major, based on the student's academic record.
Awardee
Sophie Gray: Dr. Diana Cates nominated Sophie who is graduating with a religious studies bachelor’s degree. “Sophie is in my course Happiness in a Difficult World. She is all-in as a Religious Studies Major, having taken most of our classes. She stands out as a deep and careful thinker, she works creatively with the concept of religion, and she asks wonderful, probing questions that raise the level of discourse in the classroom."
Robert and Mary Ann Small Stenger Religious Studies Scholarship
This scholarship was established in 2014 by a department alumna to provide support to a graduate student in religious studies.
Awardee
Hasan Degerli: Hasan was nominated by Dr. Diana Cates and Dr. Jenna Supp-Montgomerie: “Hasan has been an excellent teaching assistant who expressed great concern for his students and their learning. He is supremely organized, generous with his time for students and his fellow TAs, patient and clear when students need both, and attentive to issues of nuance in the course material.”
Group photos
2023 Adler graduate awardees
2023 Adler undergraduate awardees
