New fellowship for study of objectivism established at The University of Texas at Austin

October 16, 2001

AUSTIN, Texas—The Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship has established a $300,000 fellowship within the Department of Philosophy at The University of Texas at Austin to promote the study of Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism.

Funds from the fellowship will be used to educate objectivist doctoral students and help them in securing teaching positions, as well as promote the production and dissemination of scholarly works on objectivism.

"Academic interest in Ayn Rand's philosophy has been growing, and we are honored to be supporting the Philosophy Department's investment in this new field of scholarship," said John McCaskey, president of the Anthem Foundation.

To date, the fellowship has sponsored a graduate student, and has assisted Tara Smith, university associate professor of philosophy, in producing two papers, "The Metaphysical Case for Honesty" and "Money Can Buy Happiness." Future projects to be funded by the fellowship will include the appointment of visiting faculty and the development of distance-learning options.

The Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship is a non-profit organization that sponsors teaching, writing and research on Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism through fellowships at universities and colleges at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Schools interested in such fellowships should contact McCaskey.