Chapter News and Notes

Theta Alpha Kappa

Pi Chapter, St. Edward’s University

Chapter representative Dr. Kelley Coblentz Bautch reports a successful year in 2024–25. Members of the Pi Chapter assisted the Department in hosting parties in the Fall and Spring for students in Religious and Theological Studies, Catholic Studies, and Jewish Studies. Chapter President Nia Botti gave three juried presentations and was selected by St. Edward’s to represent the University at the Texas Undergraduate Research Day 2025 at the State Capitol. Botti is pursuing a Masters degree in Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Member Alex Chastain presented “Medieval Mysticism: Hildegard von Bingen’s Illuminative Compositions and Transcending Role within the Church Hierarchy” at the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies Meeting in the Theta Alpha Kappa section. Two other members Sarah Jacks and Charlie Mossberger completed Honors Theses in the areas of Religious and Theological Studies. Mossberger is now enrolled at the University of Texas Law School, with a focus on first amendment law relating to religion. Members Luke Fain, Joe Hoeft, incoming Chapter Vice-President Ella Hutzler, and incoming Chapter President Soleil Thallemer have made significant contributions to campus life through research and programming.

News from the National Board

The 2026 annual Theta Alpha Kappa business meeting will be held online this year and is scheduled for Monday, February 2 (online), from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Chapter representatives will receive further details about the meeting closer to the date, including information about votes on new constitutional changes.

Expansion of Undergraduate Achievement Awards

We are excited to announce a new trial policy that every chapter may now award an Undergraduate Achievement Award every year (rather than every other year). The $100 award is funded by the national TAK office and is granted to a student selected by the local chapter representative. For more information, see https://thetaalphakappa.org/undergraduate-award/. The deadline to request awards for this academic year is May 19, 2026.

New Graduate Research Award

We are also delighted to announce a new Graduate Research Award program in conjunction with TAK’s fiftieth anniversary in 2026. Chapter representatives may select one graduate student each academic year to receive a $200 cash prize to support travel expenses for research or conference presentation travel. Additional details will be posted to the TAK website at a later date, but for now, chapter representatives may contact TAK treasurer Michael Berger (michael.berger@emory.edu) with the name and address of the honoree and a brief description of the qualifying research activity. The deadline to request awards for this academic year is May 19, 2026.

Invitation to the 2026 Albert Clark Awards

The National Board of Directors of TAK invites entries for the 2026 Albert Clark Award, given annually for the best papers in religious studies or theology, as judged by panels established by the Board. In each category (undergraduate or graduate) the winning submission will receive a $1000 award, the second-place submission will receive a $500 award, and the third-place submission will receive a $250 award. The winners and runners-up will have their essays published in the Journal of Theta Alpha Kappa. Other excellent essays submitted for the competition will be chosen to appear in the Journal.

Competition guidelines: The competition is open to current students at the undergraduate or graduate level who satisfy one of these conditions: a) currently enrolled in or having graduated from a school with an active TAK chapter (but not necessarily an inductee themselves), provided that the paper was written while attending that school and submitted for the competition within 12 months after graduation; or b) currently enrolled in a school that does not have a TAK chapter, provided that the student was inducted in a chapter of TAK at a school previously attended.

Papers in religious studies and in all fields of theology are welcome.
Authors may only submit one paper for consideration, and the paper may not be submitted for publication elsewhere during the duration of the competition.
All papers submitted will be considered both for the Albert Clark Award and for publication in the journal.
Papers must be double-spaced and a maximum of 20 pages, including footnotes, with 12-point font size.
Papers must have the title on the first page of the submitted file.
Papers must be submitted as Word documents or PDFs.
Submissions should follow the Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (footnotes and bibliography). The citation of all source material, including information drawn from electronic sources or the Internet, should be as complete as possible.
The paper must not include any information that could identify the author and may not contain comments by previous readers.
Papers must be submitted with a completed Clark Award Submission Form. Clark Award Submission Forms are available at https://thetaalphakappa.org/clark-awards/.
Papers must be titled “Lastname Clark submission”; forms must be titled “Lastname Clark form”.

Winners will be chosen and all applicants will be notified of the judges’ decisions in March 2026. Deadline for submission is Monday, January 26, 2026. Send completed Clark Award Submission form and the paper in one email to: Dr. Andrea Stanton, JTAK Associate Editor (andrea.stanton@du.edu).

“Start Up” Grant

The national board of TAK offers a “start-up” grant of $200 for any region of the AAR or SBL that organizes a section at its annual meeting for the presentations of papers by chapter members. A $100 award should be given for the best paper presented, and the remaining $100 may be used at the discretion of the region to help organize the session. In subsequent years, the honor society will continue to offer $100 for the best paper presented at a TAK session. Participants should also be encouraged to submit their papers for the Albert Clark Award and possible publication in this journal.

Procedures for Ordering TAK Certificates and Regalia

The Board of Directors of Theta Alpha Kappa has an agreement with Kenneth E. Jernigan & Associates to collect inductee information and fees and to issue the induction certificates to the Chapter Representative. Chapter Representatives should refer to the link on the TAK website for detailed information about recording and processing this information. Please let us know of any problems. Send comments to theta_alpha_kappa_inquiries@ThetaAlphaKappa.org.