Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University was selected as the recipient of the University's Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize, President Jehuda Reinharz wrote in a campuswide e-mail on Sept. 8. According to Reinharz's e-mail, the prize, which grants the recipient $25,000, "is one of the largest academic prizes awarded for outstanding and lasting contributions to racial, ethnic and religious relations."

In a phone interview with the Justice, Reinharz said that he selected Nasr together with a committee comprised of Profs. David Cunningham (SOC), Larry Simon (Heller) and Edward Kaplan (ROMS) and Vice President of Global Affairs Dan Terris.

"Prof . Nasr's selection by our committee is an affirmation both of the global reach of his scholarship and the core values of Brandeis in inter-community and interfaith understanding," wrote Simon in an e-mail to the Justice.

Reinharz said that Nasr was selected from among "dozens of applicants," although he could not recall the exact number.

"Some people suggest themselves and some people recommend others; there is an elaborate process that they have to follow," he said of the application process, explaining that the University sends out notices to departments of religion across the country and advertises in the press and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He said the process of selecting Nasr took approximately "half a year."

Nasr, according to Reinharz's e-mail, is the only Muslim included in the Library of Philosophers, a series of books that began in 1939 and devotes each volume to the works of a different philosopher, and has published over 50 books and 500 articles. He holds a master's degree in Geology and Geophysics and a Ph.D. in the history of science and learning from Harvard University. While he is currently a professor at GW, he has also served as Dean of Faculty and Academic Vice-Chancellor at Tehran University in Iran and has also taught at American University in Beirut, Lebanon. Nasr could not be reached for comment by press time.

"He is a great scholar who is involved in the society around him, and the impact of his work has been enormous," said Reinharz.

Reinharz wrote in his e-mail that the award was created in memoriam of Joseph Gittler and his mother Toby. As a sociologist, the e-mail explains, Gittler taught at multiple universities across the country, like Duke University and Iowa State University, as well as Ben-Gurion University in Israel.

Reinharz said that he became friendly with Gittler when Gittler was teaching at Duke. He explained that Gittler was "very interested in the whole issue of how religion can have a positive impact on society" and left a million dollars in his will to establish this prize.

Nasr is the second recipient of the award; Reinharz wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the first recipient was Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah of Princeton University two years ago, but that the award was not administered last year because the funds were underwater as a result of the economy. He explained that the funds were recovered this year, which allowed the University to grant the award. According to Reinharz's e-mail to the community, Nasr will be awarded the prize on Nov. 30 in the Rappaporte Treasure Hall. At the reception, Nasr will give a lecture titled "Re-evaluating the Meaning of the Other in Our Lives," according to the e-mail.