TOC Gives First Graduate Scholarships

The Objectivist Center has awarded two scholarships for the 2004-2005 academic year. The recipients of the scholarships are Walter Foddis, a third-year Ph.D. student in psychology at the University of Western Ontario, and Shawn Klein, who will be entering the Ph.D. program in philosophy at Arizona State University in the fall. The scholarships were made possible from a gift by TOC patron Ashwin Vasan.

This is the inaugural year of the center's graduate scholarship program. The goal of the program is to encourage Objectivist scholars to make rapid progress in their degrees so they can begin taking part in teaching, researching, and writing on a professional basis. The scholarships offer up to $12,000 annually to support qualified students pursuing doctorates in philosophy and closely related fields, such as psychology and cognitive science. Students receiving awards are expected to provide regular progress reports and to take part in a TOC advanced course, such as the Advanced Seminar in Objectivist Studies or the Graduate Seminar in Objectivist Philosophy and Method.

The awards were determined by a review committee, which assessed the applicants for their academic qualifications and their potential to contribute to the development of Objectivism. Representing the center on the committee were Executive Director David Kelley and Program Director William R Thomas. Providing independent, academic assessments were Ken Livingston, professor of psychology at Vassar College, and Lester Hunt, professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Vasan served as an at-large member of the committee.

The committee awarded one of the scholarships to Foddis to support his research on self-esteem. Foddis is involved in an active research program assessing the determinants of self-esteem and testing the self-esteem theories of Nathaniel Branden, and his work has already born fruit in a number of high-quality papers co-authored with other, more established psychology researchers. In one such joint venture, he spoke on psychological theories of self-esteem in a presentation with Clemson University psychology professor Robert Campbell at the 2003 Summer Seminar in Waltham, Massachusetts. Foddis anticipates that the scholarship award will allow him to decrease his teaching responsibilities and devote more time to writing. It will also provide funds for hiring research assistants to increase the scope and quality of his data-collection efforts.

"It's exciting for us to have the chance to support work like Walter's," comments Thomas, "because it directly addresses a central idea in Objectivism. Ayn Rand called self-esteem one of the three cardinal values of the philosophy, and Nathaniel Branden's psychological work developing the theory of self-esteem is the greatest achievement to date in putting Objectivism to practical, therapeutic use. Walter is working at a more advanced level than do many students at his stage, and he is doing ground-breaking research."

The committee awarded the second scholarship to Klein to enable him to attend classes full-time in his first year of work on his Ph.D. in philosophy at Arizona State University. Klein's name should be familiar to Logbook readers—he has been the center's Web master since October 2000. He holds a master's degree from ASU, and throughout his tenure at the center he remained active in academia, teaching philosophy at Marist College and Mount St. Mary's College while he lived in New York. Since his return to Arizona, he has served as an adjunct instructor for philosophy at Mesa Community College and ASU. He also has spoken at the TOC summer seminar and advanced seminar, appearing most recently at the 2004 summer seminar in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he taught a week-long course on the Objectivist system of philosophy.

"The committee was really impressed with Shawn's qualifications and his obvious strong commitment to undergraduate teaching," says Thomas. "We're very pleased to be able to supplement the awards Shawn is getting from Arizona State, where he's clearly valued, and relieve his need to work so much outside of class. When we can make the academic program of a promising Objectivist scholar possible—or at least make it more financially doable—that's when this program really makes a difference. Of course, it means we have to look for a new Web master now!"

The center is looking for financial support for new awards in 2005. Members interested in supporting this program should contact William R Thomas or Bill Perry at the center.