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Board of Advisors
The Board of Advisors possess expertise in fields covering the full range of the foundation's activities and provide guidance on particular projects and larger strategic initiatives.
Durre S. Ahmed Eurasia and Australia
Chairperson and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Gender and Culture in Lahore, Pakistan. From 1976-2009 she taught at the National College of Arts, Pakistan’s premier arts institution where she was professor of psychology and communication, and director, Graduate Program in Cultural Studies.
Chairperson and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Gender and Culture in Lahore, Pakistan. From 1976-2009 she taught at the National College of Arts, Pakistan’s premier arts institution where she was professor of psychology and communication, and director, Graduate Program in Cultural Studies. An internationally acknowledged expert on gender and Islam, her interdisciplinary interests include the social-psychology of religion, particularly Islam, and she has extensively researched women’s spirituality and issues related to gender, culture, religion, and science in the context of Islam and Muslim societies. Apart from numerous research papers, and book chapters, she is the author of Masculinity, Rationality and Religion: A Feminist Perspective, editor and contributing author of Gendering the Spirit: Women, Religion and Postcolonial Response, and a six volume series on Women and Religion. Since 1995 she has been engaged in researching and teaching socio-psychological and cultural dimensions of Islam and Muslims in Europe at various universities, educational and public institutions. Ahmed was awarded the Fatima Jinnah Memorial Gold Medal by the Government of Punjab, Pakistan, for outstanding contributions to education and research (2008), the Izzaz-i-Fazeelat President of Pakistan Award for Academic distinction (2009), and other international and national recognitions. She has served as a judge for the Commonwealth Writers Prize (2009) and the Templeton Prize (2009-2011). Ahmed holds master’s degrees in psychology (Pb); sociology (Columbia); communication (Columbia); education (Columbia); and a doctorate in communication and education (Columbia).
James Arthur Eurasia and Australia
Professor of Education and Civic Engagement and Head of the School of Education in the University of Birmingham. He completed his masters and doctorate at Oriel College, University of Oxford, and is editor of the British Journal of Educational Studies. He has written widely on the relationship between theory and practice in education, particularly the links between communitarianism, social virtues, citizenship, religion, and education. Recent books include a critical assessment of John Henry Newman’s educational works for Continuum’s Library of Educational Thought.
Professor of Education and Civic Engagement and Head of the School of Education in the University of Birmingham. He completed his masters and doctorate at Oriel College, University of Oxford, and is editor of the British Journal of Educational Studies. He has written widely on the relationship between theory and practice in education, particularly the links between communitarianism, social virtues, citizenship, religion, and education. Recent books include a critical assessment of John Henry Newman’s educational works for Continuum’s Library of Educational Thought. Other recent publications include: (2010) Education, Identity and Religion, Routledge, London, ( 2009) (ed.) A Reader in Educational Studies, Routledge, London, (2009) (ed.) Handbook in Educational Studies, Routledge, London, (2008) (ed.) Citizenship Studies, 4 volumes, Sage, London, and (2008) (ed.) International Handbook in Citizenship and Democracy, Sage, London. Arthur is Director of Citized (www.citized.info) and Learning for Life (www.learningforlife.org.uk) and he has produced a series of major research reports on citizenship and values education which have fed directly into policy decision making at a national UK government level.
Francisco J. Ayala North America
University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He received his Ph.D. in genetics from Columbia University. Ayala has been president and chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and president of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society of the U.S. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and many foreign academies, and has received numerous prizes and honorary degrees.
University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Irvine. He received his Ph.D. in genetics from Columbia University. Ayala has been president and chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and president of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society of the U.S. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and many foreign academies, and has received numerous prizes and honorary degrees. His scientific research focuses on population and evolutionary genetics, including the origin of species, genetic diversity of populations, the origin of malaria, the population structure of parasitic protozoa, and the molecular clock of evolution. He has published more than 1,000 articles and is author or editor of 37 books. Ayala also writes about the interface between religion and science, and on philosophical issues concerning epistemology, ethics, and the philosophy of biology. Born in Madrid, Spain, Ayala has lived in the United States since 1961, and became a U.S. citizen in 1971. From 1994 to 2001, he was a member of the U.S. President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. In 2002, Dr. Ayala received the National Medal of Science from President George W. Bush at a White House ceremony. He was awarded the 2010 Templeton Prize.