Suad Joseph Endowments
Suad Joseph has established several endowments for undergraduate and graduate students in a number of universities, nationally and internationally. The endowments focus on supporting students in undertaking research. The commitment underlying these endowments is the belief that engaged citizenry requires the capacity for analytical thinking. Analytical thinking develops best perhaps through undertaking research. To do research one must have a question, a preliminary answer to the question, a logically coherent rationale justifying that answer to the question and a coherent approach for gathering the data that becomes evidence to test the answer to the question. It is that analytical thinking that research requires and inspires that these endowments are devoted to mentoring.
2021
The Suad Joseph Graduate Student Research Endowment in Middle East/South Asia Studies. This $50,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds graduate students in the social sciences or humanities at the University of California, Davis, to carry out research in the social sciences or humanities on the Middle East and/or South Asia or their diaspora. The Middle East/South Asia Studies Program Committee serves as the selection committee for the awards. The endowment was launched initially from funds Joseph received from the University of California, Davis Distinguished Teaching and Research Prize in 2014, and from annual current use donations Joseph had been making since 2010 to ME/SA for student awards.
The Suad Joseph Undergraduate Student Research Endowment in Middle East/South Asia Studies. This $50,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds undergraduate students in the social sciences or humanities at the University of California, Davis to do research in the social sciences or humanities on the Middle East and/or South Asia or their diaspora. The Middle East/South Asia Studies Program serves as the selection committee for the awards.
2022
The Suad Joseph Undergraduate Student Research Summer Fellowship Endowment. This $100,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds an undergraduate student at the State University of New York, Cortland, in the following fields: majoring in Anthropology, Sociology, History, Philosophy, or minoring in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality studies to carry out summer research. The endowment is matched by SUNY Cortland funds that pay for the student’s housing and living costs.
2023
The Suad Joseph Graduate Student Research Endowment in Women and Gender Studies in the Arab Region. This $75,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds social science or humanities graduate students at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon to carry out research in social science or humanities on women and gender in the Arab Region. The Arab Institute for Women Steering Committee serves as the selection committee for the awards.
The Suad Joseph Undergraduate Student Research Endowment in Women and Gender Studies in the Arab Region. This $25,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds undergraduate social science or humanities students at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, Lebanon, to carry out research in the social sciences or humanities on women and gender in the Arab Region. The Arab Institute for Women Steering Committee serves as the selection committee for the awards.
2024
The Suad Joseph Graduate Student Travel Award. This $25,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds graduate students travel to the Middle East Studies Association Annual Conference. Preferred recipients are graduate students from the Middle East traveling to the annual MESA meeting. The MESA Program Committee serves as the review committee for this award.
The Rose and Samuel Joseph Student Scholarship. This growing endowment, in perpetuity, funds a scholarship for a senior at Cortland Jr./Sr. High School, Cortland, NY to partly pay the costs of the first year of college. The Scholarship fund was established jointly by the children of Rose and Samuel Joseph. Suad Joseph contributes regularly to this fund and added $25,000 in 2024. The Cortland Jr./Sr. High School administration appoints the review committee for the award.
The Middle East Studies Association Global Academy Emergency Fund for scholars from Palestine. This fund offered immediate funding for a number of Palestinian scholars to leave Palestine in order to carry out their scholarship. Joseph contributed $25,000.
2025
The Suad Joseph Endowment for Palestine Studies. This $63,425 endowment, in perpetuity, funds female graduate students in the social sciences or humanities at the American University of Beirut, to carry out social science or humanities research on Palestine. Two members from the Sociology, Anthropology, and Media Studies Department at AUB and one member from the Institute for Women’s Studies at Birzeit University, Palestine serve as the review committee for the awards. The graduate student is required to carry out research and present the results.
The Suad Joseph Endowed Scholarship. This $100,000 scholarship ($66,575 from Suad Joseph, the rest from various donors), funds an undergraduate in the social sciences or humanities for up to 5 years to complete a BA/BS degree at the American University of Beirut. The student is required to enroll in one women or gender studies course each year and carry out research under the guidance of a mentor and present the results in an appropriate forum. The students are required to be daughters of Lebanese, Palestinian or Syrian mothers.
2026
The Suad Joseph Graduate Student Research Endowment in Lebanon and Palestine Studies. This $100,000 endowment, in perpetuity, funds graduate students in the social science or humanities at the University of California, Davis to carry out research in the social sciences or humanities on Lebanon or Palestine or their diaspora. The Middle East/South Asia Studies Program Committee serves as the review committee for the awards.