NEW YORK, N.Y. – The boards of trustees of America Media and the Saint Thomas More Chapel and Center at Yale University are pleased to announce that Elizabeth Dias of Time magazine is the 2016 recipient of the George W. Hunt, S.J., Prize for Excellence in Journalism, Arts & Letters.
Ms. Dias is a religion and politics correspondent for Time magazine. An acclaimed journalist, whose work includes cover stories for Time, Ms. Dias has been honored by the American Academy of Religion for her reporting. Ms. Dias’s work was described by her nominators as “a combination of emotional generosity, deep curiosity, intellectual confidence and clear vision. She is inexhaustibly curious about the world in which she lives, reading and writing at the intersection of subjects few people have the breadth of knowledge to fathom.”
Ms. Dias graduated from Wheaton College in 2008 and went on to complete her master of divinity degree at Princeton Theological Seminary. She has served in numerous leadership roles both in the Episcopal Church and in media organizations and is the editor of What Did Jesus Ask? Christian Leaders Reflect on His Questions of Faith. She has also contributed to Trump and Hillary: An American Life, available from TIME Books.
“Elizabeth Dias’s work makes the complicated world at the intersection of the religious and the political accessible to everyday readers,” said Matt Malone, S.J., president and editor in chief of America Media. “Her clear prose and masterly handling of the issues leave her readers better informed and enlightened.”
Ms. Dias will be awarded a $25,000 prize at an event to be held at the Saint Thomas More Chapel and Center in September, where she will also deliver an original lecture that will be published as the cover story in a subsequent issue of America. “We are very pleased with the decision of the selection committee,” said the Rev. Robert Beloin, chaplain of the Thomas More Chapel and Center. “Ms. Dias’s writing is a stunning example of the ability of words to bring the reader into the conversation—to engage people on topics in which they might not otherwise be interested.”
The George W. Hunt, S.J. Prize for Excellence in Journalism, Arts & Letters, was established in 2014. The Hunt Prize serves to commemorate the life and works of the late George Hunt, S.J., the longest-tenured editor-in-chief of America magazine, who had a commitment to engaging a wide array of topics and issues. The Hunt Prize seeks to encourage writers under the age of 50 who employ imagination and integrity in their writing.
About The Saint Thomas More Chapel and Center: Saint Thomas More Chapel and Center at Yale University serves the Catholic community at Yale by creating a vibrant and welcoming community through worship and service; cultivating informed faith and spirituality; engaging in reflective discourse on faith and culture; advancing the church's mission of promoting social justice; and participating in the global church's life and witness.
About America Media: America Media, publisher of America magazine,is the leading producer of multimedia content for thinking Catholics and those who want to know what Catholics are thinking. It provides a smart Catholic take on religion, politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by the Jesuit order as America magazine, it now offers content on multiple print and digital platforms, including America Digital, America Radio, America Films and America P2P (events). Website: http://www.americamedia.org
