FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 11, 2009 

 

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is proud to announce the establishment of the Joseph R. Crapa Fellowship Program in memory of Joe Crapa, who served as Executive Director of USCIRF from 2002-2007. Applications are due by June 15, 2009.

The funded fellowships are available to select individuals with exceptional records of accomplishment and/or outstanding records of academic achievement in relevant fields to the work of the Commission, including but not limited to, human rights, foreign policy, international law, and security. Applicants from the Hill, government agencies (including the military and intelligence agencies), academia, the NGO community, think tanks, and other relevant backgrounds are welcome.

The term of each fellowship will be determined by the nature of the fellow’s project, but will not exceed 12 months. It is expected that fellows will spend a substantial portion of their fellowship in residence at the USCIRF offices in Washington, DC, though alternate arrangements may be made as necessary.

Applicants for a Crapa Fellowship should submit a proposal detailing the parameters of the project they intend to pursue during their time as a Crapa Fellow. This proposal should include a succinct statement of the area of intended study, the relevance of the study to the field of religious freedom, the format and timing of the product they propose to produce, and a brief overview of relevant existing work in the area of proposed study. In addition, applicants should send a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and the names of three professional references the Commission can contact directly. Applications should be submitted electronically to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The following list provides examples of the areas the Commission is interested in further study on, but is not intended to be exhaustive: