RIVERSIDE, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2015)—Dr. Erin Smith, assistant professor of psychology, has been selected as one of 25 participants for the Bridging the Two Cultures of Science and the Humanities project during the next two summers in Oxford, England.

The announcement came from Scholarship & Christianity in Oxford (SCIO), the United Kingdom Centre of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The organization is a research and educational institute in Oxford, producing and supporting scholarship in a recognized center of international educational and scholarly excellence.

Funded by the Templeton Religion Trust, the program fosters in participants the interdisciplinary skills and understanding central to the study of religion.

In addition to attending the summer seminars with lectures from eminent scholars in the field, Smith will work on her own original research project, Promoting and Preventing the Dialogue: Psychological Influences on Discussion in Science and Religion. She will also establish a science and religion student club at CBU. Grant funds are provided to assist with the research and the student organization.

A final conference with presidents from participating institutions will be held in the summer of 2016.

According to the SCIO, the selection committee looked for early-to-mid-career faculty with proven interdisciplinary, leadership and communication skills and a strong research record who were fully supported by their sending institutions.

The project is "a timely and important initiative that will greatly strengthen teaching and research in science and religion, and enhance the intellectual experience of the faculty and their students," said Allister McGrath, academic director of Bridging the Two Cultures, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and director of the Ian Ramsey Centre at the University of Oxford.

More information is available on SCIO's website: http://www.scio-uk.org/bridging-two-cultures/.