Former MUH student receives scholarship to Harvard Divinity School

April 5, 2006

Miami University student Lucas Hergert has been awarded a Williams Fund Entrance Fellowship to the master's of divinity program at Harvard University's Divinity School.

Hergert, a senior from Cincinnati, will enter the program this fall taking core courses in ministry studies, the history of Christianity, and theoretical methods in the study of religion. He also plans to focus on topics such as political philosophy and social activism.

The award is granted each year to entering master's of divinity students who submitted, in the estimation of the admissions committee, the most outstanding applications for admission and who demonstrate substantial promise for ministry. The scholarship will be provided each year of the degree program.

Hergert, who began his academic work at Miami Hamilton, credits Miami for preparing him well for this opportunity. "Miami could not have provided a better preparation for my studies at the graduate level," he said.

"Specifically, Miami has given me a rigorous grounding in the history of philosophy, as well as a breadth of knowledge of many religious traditions. I see my ministry as a public one, providing a progressive religious voice on issues of gay and lesbian concerns, the right of women's choice, and anti-racism, " he added.

Hergert, the son of Dave Hergert, professor of engineering technology at the Hamilton and Middletown campuses, said he wouldn't change anything about his undergraduate education.

"Given the option of beginning at Hamilton or Oxford, I would start at Hamilton without a second thought. Its classes are smaller, professors are more accessible, and it has all the resources necessary to begin a bachelor's degree."