OKLAHOMA CITY, Sept. 2, 2015—

The Green Scholars Initiative is pleased to announce two new recipients of the Edwin M. Yamauchi Award for Excellence in Textual Studies.

The award is given to young scholars who have demonstrated rare aptitude in biblical language studies, shown exceptional academic performance and are pursuing terminal degrees. The honor includes an annual stipend renewable for up to three years. The award recipients will be invited to present their research at the Green Scholars Initiative summer workshop in Oxford, England and given priority access to artifacts in The Green Collection—one of the world’s largest private collections of biblical texts and antiquities.

This award is named after eminent ancient historian and Professor Emeritus at Miami University (OH), Dr. Edwin Maseo Yamauchi.

Dr. Yamauchi, renowned for his scholarship, is more widely admired for the time and energy he invested in mentoring younger scholars and the depth and graciousness of his character. It’s an honor to have his blessing on this award and to have two exceptional recipients displaying commitment to these same qualities,” said Michael Holmes, executive director of the Green Scholars Initiative.

The 2015 recipients of the Edwin M. Yamauchi Award are:

• Suzie Millar, who is beginning doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge. Millar’s supporting research organization is Tyndale House, Cambridge.
• Jeremiah Coogan, who is beginning doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame.

“Suzie Millar is a brilliant GSI student who, while still an undergraduate, transcribed 200 pages of difficult Aramaic palimpsest, and achieved some of the best exam results in theology which I can remember. Now as a PhD student she is breaking new ground in understanding ambiguity in Proverbs,” said Peter Williams, warden of Tyndale House at Cambridge

“Jeremiah Coogan is an exceptionally gifted student, with deep philological and linguistic ability matched by sane historical instincts and constructive theological concern. I have every expectation that Jeremiah’s doctoral work will hone these skills even further, and that we will all be benefiting from his learning in the years to come,” said Dr. David Lincicum, Associate Professor of New Testament at the University of Notre Dame

The Green Scholar’s Initiative (GreenScholarsInitiative.org) breaks the mold of traditional research paradigms by pairing young students with established scholars to pioneer groundbreaking research on the collection’s biblical texts and artifacts—among them, ancient cuneiform, early Greek, Coptic and Syriac papyri, and original source texts from early Catholicism and the Protestant Reformation. Scholars from more than 60 colleges, universities and seminaries around the globe are involved with over 90 research projects through the initiative.

About The Green CollectionScholars Initiative
The Green Scholars Initiative is the research arm of the Museum of the Bible. A select group of senior research scholars from academic institutions around the world are conducting primary research on items from the Green Collection—one of the world’s largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts—through the initiative. Leading experts in the fields of papyri and cuneiform; Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Egyptian and Ethiopic texts; Coptic, medieval, Middle Eastern, early Jewish and early American artifacts; illuminated manuscripts; and Christian tradition and spirituality are participating in the research. These senior scholars oversee teams of established and young scholars who are pioneering new biblical discoveries.