March 28, 2019

Awards will support dissertation research in Jerusalem on Franciscans in the Holy Land during the medieval period

Jon Paul Heyne, a doctoral candidate in Catholic University’s Department of History, has won two of the most competitive fellowships open to graduate students in the humanities, to support his dissertation research. 

The Fulbright Scholar Program, administrated by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the U.S. Department of State, has named Jon Paul as a pre-doctoral Fulbright scholar, supporting his research in Jerusalem during the 2019-2020 academic year.  In addition, Jon Paul has won a residential fellowship at the University of Notre Dame’s Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem.

The fellowships will enable Jon Paul to continue research for his dissertation, entitled “The Franciscans of the Holy Land: Religion and Politics of the Mediterranean in the Age of Queen Sancia”, under the supervision of Professor Katherine L. Jansen.

Jon Paul says “I am extremely grateful to God for the opportunity these fellowships will give me to delve more deeply into the lives of my historical subjects, and I would like to thank all of my professors and fellow graduate students for their incredible guidance and support throughout the past several years. These awards are theirs far more than they are mine.”

Adds Professor Jansen, “I am thrilled for Jon Paul.  These fellowships will allow him the unparalleled opportunity to spend valuable time in the archives of Jerusalem to transcribe some complicated materials that have never before been published.  In addition, they will place Jon Paul in a community of international scholars who are working in the field. The Department of History applauds Jon Paul on this achievement, which serves once again to demonstrate that our students – with the training and supervision they receive in our department – can compete on an international stage.”