Michael Rabenberg and Ronni Gura Sadovsky will join the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics as Graduate Fellows for the 2016-2017 academic year. As part of their year-long fellowship, the two will take part in the Center's weekly seminar, which brings together graduate students working in areas of practical ethics from across the university. This coming year, in addition to doctoral candidates in Philosophy, the Center's list of Graduate Fellows includes students in Environmental Studies and Geography, Health Policy, Modern European History, Religion, Sociology, and Education.
When asked about how the Safra fellowship would contribute to her scholarly development, Ronni Gura Sadovsky expressed particular excitement both for the way the Center draws together scholars from "across the academic life cycle"--undergraduates, graduate students, and new as well as established scholars--and from a variety of disciplines. "It is really important that philosophy remain in conversational contact with other fields," she said, "so I am happy to have the opportunity for sustained and deeper contact with people in other disciplines."
In addition to providing them with an engaging intellectual community, the Safra Graduate Fellowships give students much appreciated financial support. Next year's graduate fellows will receive study space, a modest research allowance, and a stipend of $27,000 for the year. For Rabenberg, news of the award came as a big relief. "It's nice to know that I will have support for the year not only to continue my research but also as I prepare to go on the job market."
Established in 1990 with the support of the American Express Foundation, and subsequent gifts from Mrs. Lily Safra and Mr. Eugene P. Beard, the Graduate Fellowships in Ethics aim "to ensure that progress in teaching and research in ethics will continue into the future" by training "younger scholars who are prepared to dedicate their careers to the study of practical ethics in a wide variety of subjects." More than one hundred Graduate Fellowships have been awarded to Harvard-enrolled graduate and professional students.