History     

1996

• Lilly Endowment Research Grant ($341,000)
• "African Americans and the Bible: The History and Dynamics of an Interaction," Research Project

1998

• Ford Foundation Research Grant ($108,000)
• African Americans and the Bible: Contemporary Ethnography Project

1999

• “African Americans and the Bible: Social-Cultural Formations and Sacred Texts” international conference, New York

2000

• Ford Foundation Research Grant ($79,000) 
• Planning for major research project on Society, Culture and Sacred Texts: Africa and the African Diaspora
• Publication of African Americans and the Bible: Sacred Texts and Social Textures

2002

• Ford Foundation Research Grant ($95,000)
• Transition year for Institute on Sacred Texts and Social Textures, Claremont Graduate University
• Exploratory/Consultation Meeting with colleagues in the Claremont University Consortium

2003

• Ford Foundation Research Grant ($600,000)
• Establishment of the Institute for Signifying Scriptures, Claremont Graduate University
• Planning for international conference to coincide with the launch the Institute for Signifying Scriptures

2004

• “Theorizing Scriptures”, Inaugural International Conference of the Institute for Signifying Scriptures, February
• Launch of the Brown Bag Lunch Discussion series

2006

• Henry W. Luce Foundation Grant ($300,000)
• Launch of collaborative project “Ethnologies of Scriptural Readings in the U.S.”

2007

• Inaugural Distinguished Speaker Series event featuring Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka

2008

• Ford Foundation Research Grant ($600,000)
• Theorizing Scriptures: New Critical Orientations to a Cultural Phenomenon, first publication in the Signifying (on) Scriptures Book Series in collaboration with the Rutgers University Press
• Ford Foundation’s Sheila Davaney visits Claremont Graduate University (President, Dean of the School of Religion, Office of Advancement), and Institute for Signifying Scriptures
• Planning and launch of documentary film project “Scriptures in Los Angeles”

2009

• “Reading Scriptures, Reading America: Interruptions, Orientation, and Mimicry among U.S. Communities of Color,” ISS national conference, the culmination of the “Ethnologies of Scriptural Readings in the U.S.” collaborative project
• Consultation with Beth Strachan, Metropolitan Group (a Ford Foundation initiative)

2010

• National documentary film premiere of “Finding God in the City of Angels”
• Launch of the new Critical Comparative Scriptures program in collaboration with the School of Religion, Claremont Graduate University

2012

• Signifying (on) Scriptures Book Series re-launched in collaboration with the Penn State University Press