The Joan B. Malick Scholarship: Honoring and Helping Women

03-01-2022

Established in 2008 by the Presbyterian Women of Indianapolis’ Second Presbyterian Church, the Joan B. Malick Scholarship honors Rev. Dr. Joan B. Malick by investing in the education of women seminarians.

When Kiruba Immanuel’s husband was studying at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Immanuel became familiar with McCormick which shares space and community with that theological institution. Immanuel would browse McCormick’s halls, ask questions of its professors, and attend McCormick’s midweek worship services. Soon curiosity felt more like a call to ministry, and Immanuel pondered whether she should attend seminary, too.

“I had worked in Human Resources departments in India,” Immanuel begins, “and I also was involved in Sunday School ministries and did some counseling with girls who were graduating. I helped them prepare resumes, apply for jobs, and practice interviewing skills. I shared the gospel with them when I could. I’m still working with these women while here in America. Many are from the Dalit caste like me, the poorest caste in my country. If coming here was a call to ministry…to learn more about helping people, I want to prepare myself…I want to do it the proper way, through studying.”

Preparation for Immanuel has meant entering McCormick’s Master of Divinity program. Early on, the family struggled with the additional expenses until someone in the Finance Department told her to apply for a Malick Scholarship because she had good grades. “Receiving the Malick Scholarship relieved the financial stress of going to seminary,” she says, “and it gave me the energy to push myself to study even harder.”

That’s the goal the scholarship was designed to achieve, expresses Becky Hagarty, a founding member of the Malick Scholarship committee who is currently serving a third term. “The scholarship is to make a significant financial impact on women who want to earn seminary degrees, freeing them to focus on their studies,” she says.

Established in 2008 by the Presbyterian Women of Indianapolis’ Second Presbyterian Church, the Joan B. Malick Scholarship honors Rev. Dr. Joan B. Malick, M.Div.’78, who earned her Ph.D. from Union Institute and University in 1996.  Rev. Malick retired as executive pastor and head of staff at Second Presbyterian in 2008 and served in other leadership posts over her 20 years with the church. Nineteen McCormick women are Malick Scholars. Women seminarians who attend Second Presbyterian Church also have received the scholarship.

“Joan came here as our associate pastor of Mission, and it felt like she had always been here,” remembers Hagarty whose cousin, Rev. Dr. Robert G. Boling, M.Div.’56, taught Old Testament Studies at McCormick and was a biblical archeologist. “Joan is one of those people who doesn’t tell you the answer; she leads you to your answer. She asks questions, makes us color outside the lines, promotes and proclaims the good news, and is everyone’s cheerleader. We decided that the best way to honor her years with us was to find and help women with Joan-like qualities.”

Helping Made Easy

The scholarship committee contacted McCormick to learn how a scholarship could be established in Rev. Malick’s honor and worked with the church’s endowment committee to plan fundraising efforts. “Ours is an easy process,” says Hagarty. “McCormick makes students aware of the scholarship, students fill out the application and send it to us with some supporting information – transcript, biography, statement of faith and letters of recommendation. The three of us serving on the committee review these materials. Our biggest challenge is selecting recipients from each year’s group of eligible candidates. We try to limit the number of recipients to three so that each can receive a contribution that will make a difference.”

Sarah Lyn Jones, M.Div.’15, experienced the difference the Malick Scholarship can make. “I was in a dual-degree program, working on my master of divinity and social work,” recalls Jones. “It was difficult to work and be a full-time student, so the scholarship was extremely helpful.”

Finding the funds to secure a theological education is a big part of the decision-making process that determines where to go to school or if a theological education is practical at all, notes Jones,  who serves as associate director of Community Engagement at Partners for Sacred Places.

“When you have a sense of call about the work you want to do...this level of support allows you to lessen the financial burden of career decision-making,” Jones says. “The Malick Scholarship recognizes that the careers many people enter after earning a theological degree usually aren’t high paying, yet what we do is valuable to our society and the church.”

Thanking is giving

Raising funds for any endeavor can be challenging, Hagarty points out, but can be addressed by clearly stating the purpose of the funds and the person who is being honored. “Every church or organization – no matter how large or small – has a person who everyone admires…everyone loves,” Hagarty says. “When people know that the purpose of the funds is a way to thank and honor that individual, they are more likely to support the effort. We have that person in Joan.”

Humbled by this ongoing tribute, Rev. Malick swells with pride when talking about the Malick Scholars she has met at the church’s annual Presbyterian Women’s Praise Luncheon where the scholarships are presented. “Every woman I meet is a memorable encounter,” stresses Rev. Malick who served on McCormick’s Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2013. “Meeting them reminds me to think in terms of the kingdom of God. God is doing and raising up the next generation of leaders, pastors, missionaries, chaplains, community organizers, teachers, and counselors. They are bold, brilliant, and bring a perspective that is expanding the work and role of theological education in our world. I’m getting to meet the future.”

For information on how you, your church or organization can establish a scholarship fund at McCormick, contact Stephanie Moore, director of Development, smoore@mccormick.edu.

“Malick Scholars are bold, brilliant, and bring a perspective that is expanding the work and role of theological education in our world.”

Rev. Dr. Joan B. Malick, M.Div.’78

Kiruba Immanuel, M.Div. candidate

Sarah Lyn Jones, M.Div.’15

Becky Hagarty, chair, Joan B. Malick Scholarship Fund