THE CENTER FOR Religion and Civic Culture announced its inaugural cohort of undergraduate research award recipients in mid-November. Eleven USC students, along with their faculty mentors, received funding for the 2002-2003 academic year.

The $2,000 awards are divided between the student and faculty research teams. Students receive $1,500 for research expenses and travel. Faculty mentors receive $500. With the award, each undergraduate pursues a unique research agenda that coincides with the faculty mentor’s interests or ongoing research.

Gregory C. Stanczak, postdoctoral fellow, will oversee the program and bring students together periodically to share their research experiences. “This first group of students exemplifies the diversity of disciplines, methodological approaches and thematic questions that we envisioned when we solicited proposals,” said Stanczak. “We are very encouraged by this first group and optimistic about the future of the awards in years to come.”

“The College is committed to providing students with a broadly based education that prepares them to be wise and effective citizens,” said Sarah Pratt, dean of academic programs in the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “Our students are not only well-prepared but eager to reach beyond the classroom in their understanding of the world. Undergraduate research and a close connection with faculty play a key role in this kind of education.”

The Center for Religion and Civic Culture is a research center in The College. With support from The Pew Charitable Trusts, CRCC launched an ambitious project to support interdisciplinary research on religion. The core activities of the center revolve around the interaction of three faculty working groups, focusing, respectively, on religion and immigration, religion and culture, and faith-based community development and organizing.

STUDENTS AND FACULTY mentors who received awards are:

• Deepika Bains with Jane Naomi Iwamura, assistant professor of religion, in the College: Assessment of the institutions and practices that shape the religious beliefs of South Asian American Hindus.

• Rigoberto Garcia with Donna Spruijt-Metz, assistant professor of research, Institute for Prevention Research: Religion and health seeking behaviors among adolescents in Los Angeles Public Schools.

• Stephen Hood with Bruce Zuckerman, associate professor of religion, The College, and Lynn Swartz Dodd, visiting assistant professor of religion, The College: Exploring the cultural background of biblical text inscriptions.

• Yeghig Keshishian with Martin H. Krieger, professor of planning in the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development: Photographing and documenting Armenian churches in the Los Angeles region.

• Billie Christine Ortiz, Maeve St. Leger, Klealy Pineda with Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo, associate professor of sociology, The College (sharing two awards): A study of the Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights.

• Brian Stewart with Lee Cerling, clinical assistant professor, USC Marshall School of Business: To design a survey that will examine attitudes toward religiosity in American universities.

• Maria Itzel Siegrist with Maria Elena Martinez, assistant professor of history, The College: The role of women in the Mexican Inquisition.

• Nilay Vora with Jane Naomi Iwamura, assistant professor of religion, The College: South Asian American students and the ideas of Gandhi.

• Rebecca Zak with Richard Wightman Fox, professor of history, The College: To examine the cultural image of Jesus in American culture following the publication of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

For additional information about the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, visit http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/religion