Eboo Patel Wins Grawemeyer Award

The University of Louisville announced today the winners of the 2010 Grawemeyer Award. Created in 1984 by H. Charles Grawemeyer, the award is given annually on behalf of the University to five individuals who help make the world a better place in the fields of music, political science, psychology, education, and religion. Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), and a member of President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, was selected out of 67 nominations worldwide to win the prestigious $200,000 religion prize for his 2007 autobiography, “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation.” The book tells the story of the 32-year-old Patel’s life growing up as an Indian-born Muslim in the United States, his inner-struggle with anger, and how he transformed that anger and became a leader for peace. In his book, Patel writes, “Every time we see a teenager kill someone in the name of God, we should picture a pair of shadowy hands behind him, showing him how to make the bomb or point the gun…and then we should ask: ‘Why weren’t the hands of people who care about pluralism shaping that kid instead of the hands of religious totalitarians?’”

Susan Garrett, a religion professor at the University of Louisville who directs the award recently said, “Religious extremists all over the world are harnessing adolescent angst for their own ends.” She adds, “Patel urges us to take advantage of the short window of time in a young person’s life to teach the universal values of cooperation, compassion and mercy.”The Grawemeyer Award for religion was added in 1990 and is jointly awarded by the University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary. The award recognizes individuals whose work significantly contributes to religious and spiritual understanding. The University of Louisville and the Louisville Presbyterian Seminary define “religion” by paraphrasing a classic definition by William James, “the feelings, acts and experiences of humans insofar as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they consider the divine.” They state the purpose of the award as “to honor and publicize annually creative and constructive insights into the relationship between human beings and the divine, and ways in which this relationship may inspire or empower human beings to attain wholeness, integrity or meaning, either individually or in community.”

H. Charles Grawemeyer was born in 1912 in Louisville, Kentucky to immigrant German parents. An industrialist, entrepreneur, savvy investor, and philanthropist, Grawemeyer graduated from the University of Louisville in chemical engineering yet cherished the liberal arts. He created the award to honour powerful ideas in five fields in performing arts, the humanities, and the social sciences. The award was funded by an initial endowment of $9 million with an original prize of $150, 000. The award was increased to $200,000 in 2000, making it the most lucrative award in each of the respective fields. Between 1985 and 2000, more than $7 million was awarded to 47 recipients. At Grawemeyer’s funeral in 1993, former President of the University of Louisville, Donald Swain said, “To a remarkable extent, he put his personal stamp on the awards, which surely are his shining legacy. They are devoted to the beauty of creativity and the power of great ideas to change the world. The awards incorporate his simple conviction that the judgment of lay persons-not academic experts-ought to be decisive in the selection of award winners. From this day forward, we will honor his memory by doing what he wanted us to do most of all: exalt the life of the mind, consider great ideas, reward creativeness.”

Other winners of the 2010 Grawemeyer Award are Ronald Melzack (Science), Keith Stanovich (Education), Trita Parsi (Ideas Improving World Order), and York Hoeller (Music Composition).

Website: www.grawemeyer.org