The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Awards $6.3 Million to ACLS To Extend Groundbreaking Program in Buddhist Studies Through 2024

NEW YORK, June 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has been awarded a $6.3 Million grant extension by The Robert. H. N. Ho Family Foundation to continue the Program in Buddhist Studies.  The new grant recognizes the success of this groundbreaking initiative and enables its expansion in bold new directions.

Established in 2014, The Robert. H. N. Ho Family Foundation Program in Buddhist Studies has had a core mission of promoting the study of Buddhism through competitions for fellowships and grants for scholars around the world, and through the nurturing of networks by annual symposia for early career fellows. The program has also provided seed funding to establish eight new professorships in Buddhist studies at universities in France, Hungary, Mexico, and the United States.

The grant extension will support the program through 2024, enabling ACLS to systematically reach out to Asian scholars, universities, and monastic institutions in order to increase and diversify applicant pools to better reflect the communities of scholars of Buddhism worldwide. The program will launch a Buddhist Studies Public Scholars initiative, to place emerging scholars in professional positions at museums and publications. Research on all Buddhist traditions, in all periods, regions, and languages, will continue to be promoted through fellowships for dissertation completion and advanced research, support for translations and publicly accessible writing, and grants for New Professorships.    

"ACLS is extraordinarily proud to build on our partnership with The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation in continuing the growth of this singular program," said ACLS President Joy Connolly.  "The competition is open to scholars proposing work from anywhere in the world and in any language they choose, making it a truly global endeavor.  We are excited to work with the Foundation in further expanding its reach, community, and potential outcomes for significant and innovative research and contributions in scholarship and society."

"On behalf of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation," noted CEO Phillip Henderson, "I thank ACLS for its remarkable success in sustaining the study of Buddhist traditions, ideas, and insights.  We look forward to three more years of expanding to new vistas and reaching ever wider audiences."

The next round of fellowship and grant competitions for this program will open in August 2021. Learn more at bit.ly/ACLSBuddhistStudies.       

Formed in 1919, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a nonprofit federation of 78 scholarly organizations.  As the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences, ACLS holds a core belief that knowledge is a public good. As such, ACLS strives to promote the circulation of humanistic knowledge throughout society. In addition to stewarding and representing its member organizations, ACLS employs its $140 million endowment and $35 million annual operating budget to support scholarship in the humanities and social sciences and to advocate for the centrality of the humanities in the modern world.

Inspired and informed by the concept of interconnectedness, The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation vitalizes the areas of arts and culture and Buddhism, and funds initiatives that enhance the wellbeing of humanity and the environment.

SOURCE American Council of Learned Societies

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