Simran Jeet Singh ’06, assistant professor of religion at Trinity University, has received the 2016 recipient of the Walter Wink Scholar Activist Award in recognition of his role as a leader in the national conversation on Islamophobia, racial profiling, and hate violence.
The award was given during the American Academy of Religion meeting held Nov. 19-22 in San Antonio. Singh, also a Senior Religion Fellow for the Sikh Coalition, said of the award, “In addition to serving the world around me, there’s also a duty to stand up for justice.”
He is only the second person to receive the award, which honors the legacy of Walter Wink, an Auburn Theological Seminary faculty member for nearly 25 years who also was an author, speaker, and activist. Wink’s scholarship focused on Jesus and nonviolence and on confronting the powers of the world with prophetic love.
“At Auburn, we find hope in the brave leaders of faith and moral courage who are leading voices for love and justice, for protection of the vulnerable, and accountability for the powerful,” said the Rev. Dr. Christian Scharen, vice president of Applied Research at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York, adding “Dr. Singh is just such a brave leader.”
Scharen also lauded Singh’s work as a new media activist who has a creative presence on social media and a platform in national print and video formats. In his position with the Sikh Coalition, Singh is credited with helping to put together a 'historic' segment on The Daily Show dealing with racial profiling and Islamophobia.
At Trinity, Singh teaches courses on Islam and draws from his academic expertise on the history of religious communities and literatures in South Asia. He also is a Truman National Security Fellow and a Handa Fellow in Interreligious Communication.
Susie P. Gonzalez, senior manager of public relations, can be reached at [email protected] or @susiegonz.