IWU Awards First Post Doctoral Fellowship

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) has selected Ms. Lisa Toland as the inaugural scholar in its Post Doctoral Fellowship program. She comes to us from University of Oxford (Jesus College) where she will complete her viva (dissertation defense) on August 12, 2:00 PM. Her field is Early Modern British History. She also earned a Masters of Studies in Historical Research at Oxford, a M.A. in European History from Miami University of Ohio, and her A.B. in History and English Literature from Indiana Wesleyan University (2001), graduating Summa Cum Laude as the first John Wesley Honors College (JWHC) graduate (taking only three years). Lisa also served as the Junior Dean of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and a tutor at the center and at Worcester College, Oxford.

The Post Doctoral Fellowship program developed out of research and recommendations from the Scholarship Council under the leadership of Dr. Jerry Pattengale. It has come to fruition with the support of President Henry Smith for new levels of scholarly achievement at IWU. This program will be housed centrally in the Office of the Provost with connections to both the JWHC and the scholar’s academic discipline.

This initiative will afford Fellows the opportunity to learn from some of our excellent professors while simultaneously assisting the academic enterprise through teaching and research. Fellows will carry a small teaching load, will be expected to produce a major publication, and will assist the Scholarship Council in the development of national cross-disciplinary forums at IWU through which emerging scholars may collaborate and share their work. A full posting of the Post Doctoral Program will appear this fall. We are delighted to have a wonderful start to this promising undertaking.

Please pray for Lisa as she prepares for and completes her defense on August 12th. Her dissertation title is “Through the Eyes of Death: Kinship and Controversy in Two Lincolnshire Gentry Families.”

I think it appropriate to pause and express a special appreciation to her professors in the JWHC, Social Sciences and English for their solid roles during her undergraduate education. Also, thanks to the many of you who have participated in the numerous strategic planning and Scholarship Council meetings that helped to frame this and other emerging scholarship initiatives at Indiana Wesleyan University.