Dr. Tia Kolbaba, MN ’86, has been a loyal supporter of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars for over three decades. She received a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities from what was then the Woodrow Wison National Fellowship Foundation to help cover her graduate studies at the University of Toronto. She was able to complete her graduate education debt-free, a privilege she acknowledges as rare in the field of humanities.
“My Mellon Fellowship made pursuing a degree in the humanities possible for me,” she reflects. “I don’t know whether I would’ve pursued it without full funding.” In addition to the financial assistance she received, she valued the cohort experience that enabled her to meet other Fellows and learn about each other’s research and how to successfully navigate the profession at an early stage in their careers.
This support, combined with her passion for teaching and researching religious history, solidified her commitment to higher education. Today, she serves as an Associate Professor of Religion at Rutgers University, specializing in early and medieval Christianity. She has also developed a range of courses that explore how religion affects contemporary life, including ones on abortion and reproductive rights, religion and American constitutional law, and 21st century right-wing movements.
Dr. Kolbaba’s decision to give back was influenced by her experience as a Mellon Fellow, and a family tradition of charitable giving. As Citizens & Scholar’s mission evolved, so did her commitment. She feels its expanded focus on civic education for young people is important, recognizing the importance of a well-informed and engaged citizenry.
“
“I’ve always been impressed with Citizens & Scholars. I believe it’s an organization run by people who think hard about where the money raised can do the most good.”
Tia Kolbaba
As a longtime donor, she signed up for monthly giving as a convenient way to maintain consistent support. Dr. Kolbaba has embraced this approach, setting up all her charitable contributions on a recurring basis.
For Dr. Kolbaba, her contributions represent a continuation of her fellowship’s impact and the creation of opportunities for the next generation of scholars.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
