Reinhardt University Professor Takes Part in TWP Science & Religion Project

From Reinhardt University:

WALESKA, GA — Reinhardt University’s Dr. Donna Coffey Little, professor of English, is one of 15 applicants nationwide to be a Think Write Publish Fellow in Science and Religion, a John Templeton Foundation funded initiative.

Chosen from a pool of more than 650 applicants, the prestigious selection will give Dr. Little the opportunity to explore the true relationship between religion and science.

"I am excited to participate in the national conversation about how faith and science go hand in hand,” Dr. Little said. “Reinhardt, as a Methodist affiliated institution, has always promoted the integration of faith and learning, which is part of why I love teaching here. I will be in conversation with theologians, scientists and writers from all over the country, and I'll be able to bring back these experiences and share them with the Reinhardt community."

Dr. Little and the 14 other Fellows selected will work over the next two years on learning and applying the art of creative nonfiction to write compelling, original and true stories about science and religion. TWP Science & Religion is a project of Arizona State University’s Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes and the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, in collaboration with Creative Nonfiction and Issues in Science and Technology magazines.

Fellows will receive a $10,000 stipend and will attend three intensive training workshops. They also will participate in a variety of events to help disseminate their stories. Proposed stories include a portrayal of the importance of religion to the work of the great Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler, an inside look at a Catholic school on the U.S.-Mexico border that combines traditional religious training with rigorous scientific education, and a memoir about how shared religious training with rigorous devotion led to a reconciliation between a physicist father estranged from his humanist daughter.

“We were amazed at the quality of the applicant pool, and narrowing down from the top 100 or so applicants to the final 15 was very difficult,” said project director Lee Gutkind, writer-in-residence and professor at SFIS. “Obviously we not only struck a vein of untapped interest and passion, but the diversity of story ideas and life experiences presented by the applicants was incredible.”

Photo courtesy of Reinhardt University.