The SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind received a $1.26 million gift from SAGE Publications, Inc. to establish a junior fellowship at UCSB.

Postdoctoral fellows can apply for the funding to study and perform research with faculty as well as teach undergraduate courses at UCSB for two years. The SAGE Center initially formed in 2005 by a previous endowment from SAGE Publications; the center primarily offers courses on psychology, political science, anthropology, philosophy, biology and economics. The center also hosts visiting scholars for public lecture series that focus on issues in neuroscience.

Blaise Simqu, SAGE president and chief executive officer of SAGE Publications, said his organization — an internationally well-known publisher of academic journals and textbooks — made the contribution to continue supporting a worthy academic endeavor.

“We have been supporting quality research that transforms society and our understanding of individuals, groups and cultures for more than 45 years,” Simqu said in a press released Tuesday. “We’re very pleased to make this gift in order to help advance the work of [SAGE Center Director] Dr. Gazzaniga and the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind.”

Chancellor Henry T. Yang said the newly established fellowship will add to the campus’ already sterling reputation for research and interdisciplinary cooperation.

“The fellowships are intended for recent Ph.D.’s who show tremendous promise and potential for an academic career. The Fellows will have a great deal of latitude to engage in research and other creative activities with faculty across our campus,” Yang said in an e-mail. “This complements one of our campus’s great strengths, that of the highly collaborative and uniquely interdisciplinary nature of research and training here at UC Santa Barbara. We look forward to welcoming these Fellows and to their full integration into our teaching and research endeavors, as well as into campus life.”

Recent Ph.D. recipients may apply by contacting SAGE Center Director Michael Gazzaniga by the end of the day at (805) 893-5006, as the deadline is Feb. 15, 2011. The two-year fellowship position will begin July 1, 2011.