People, papers and presentations

President David Leebron and University Representative Y. Ping Sun are co-chairing the Teach For America – Houston 2017 Benefit Dinner with Lydia and James Chao. The event will be held from 6 to 11 p.m. March 30 at Silver Street Studios, 2000 Edwards St. Teach For America’s mission is to enlist, develop and mobilize as many of the nation’s most promising future leaders as possible to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence. The organization recruits corps members who commit to teach for two years in low-income communities. Teach For America – Houston is fueled by the belief that one day, all children in Houston will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. More info about the gala is available here.

The Henry Luce Foundation has awarded a $400,000 grant to Kadir Yildirim, research scholar in the Center for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute, for a project on religious authority and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The grant is part of the foundation’s Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion in International Affairs.