In Memoriam: Norman L. Grover, Longstanding Member of AAR, Dies at 82Rev. Dr. Norman L. Grover, of Blacksburg, VA, passed away on Tuesday, June 15, 2010. For forty-five years, Grover taught at Virginia Tech, and served as their philosophy and religion department head. His education included a Bachelor of Music Education from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1948); and Bachelor of Divinity (1951), STM (1952), and PhD in Religion (1957) from Yale University. Grover joined the newly formed Department of Philosophy and Religion (now known as the Department of Religion and Culture) at Virginia Tech in 1957 and served as head of the department until 1975. He continued teaching in the department and the successor Department of Religion, which was established in 1983, until his retirement in 1994. Grover was a member of AAR for over fifteen years. Two Schools to Form Interreligious UniversityTwo theological schools, including the nation’s oldest Christian graduate seminary, are joining to form a university to educate people of all religions. Andover Newton Theological School, founded outside Boston in 1807, and the Unitarian Universalist Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago, announced Tuesday they’ll unite to form an “interreligious theological university” by next year. The schools will keep their identities under the corporate umbrella of the new school. Andover-Newton president Nick Carter said students can still receive a degree from his school, but they’ll be interacting with students earning degrees in other religions from other schools on the same campus. Carter said that experience is crucial when working in a multifaith world. Meadville Lombard is selling its four-building campus in Chicago and the new school will be based at the Andover Newton campus. Austin Presbyterian Seminary Dean Michael Jinkins to Lead Louisville SeminaryAAR member Michael Jinkins, the sixth academic dean at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, was recently announced the president-elect of the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He will become the president of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary effective September 1. Jinkins has been a member of the faculty of Austin Seminary since 1993, after serving as a pastor in congregations in Irving, Itasca, and Brenham, Texas, and in Aberdeen, Scotland. He is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and a member of Mission Presbytery. Jinkins became academic dean of Austin Seminary in January 2004. He is the author of more than twelve books and has served as editor on multiple journals. Jinkins has been a member of the AAR since 1989. First Goldziher Prize to be Awarded to Mark Cohen for Promoting Understanding across Religious FaithsThe Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations announced the first awardee of the Goldziher Prize: Professor Mark R. Cohen of Princeton University. Cohen, the Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East at Princeton University, is the author of Under Crescent and Cross: The Jews in the Middle Ages (Princeton University Press, 2008), a powerful study revealing the advantages for Jews of the Middle Ages of being governed by Muslims and a work that has been translated into Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish, French, and German; Romanian and Spanish are forthcoming. Cohen is an ordained rabbi. The Goldziher Prize is a $25,000 cash award, made possible by a generous grant from The William and Mary Greve Foundation and by the vision of one of the Foundation’s principals, John Kiser. The prize is named for the nineteenth century Islamicist, Ignác Goldziher, a Hungarian Jew who revered Islam and Muslim people and validated Islamic studies in the nineteenth century European university context. The prize is being administered by Merrimack College’s Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations. The Center promotes reverence, understanding, and collaboration in works of justice and peace among Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Association of Theological Schools and Luce Foundation Name Six Faculty Members as 2010–2011 Henry Luce III Fellows in TheologySelected on the basis of the strength of their proposals to conduct creative and innovative theological research, the six Fellows (below) will engage in year-long research in various areas of theological inquiry. The 2010–2011 Fellows constitute the seventeenth class of scholars to be appointed since the inception of the program in 1993, bringing the total number of Luce Fellows to one hundred and seventeen. The program is supported by a grant from The Henry Luce Foundation, honoring the late Henry Luce III. 2010-2011 Henry Luce III Theology FellowsJohn R. Bowlin Francis X. Clooney, S. J. Linda A. Mercadante Mary Clark Moschella Carol A. Newsom Kathryn Tanner 2010–2011 Lilly Theological Research Grant RecipientsCongratulations to the following 2010–2011 Lilly Theological Research Grant winners. For Faculty Fellowships:
For Theological Scholars Grants:
For Research Expense Grants:
For Collaborative Research Grants (project leader is listed first):
Theologos Book AwardsThe Association of Theological Booksellers recently announced the 2009 winners of the Theologos Awards. The awards represent the unique, professional evaluations of people who sell academic religious books. The Association of Theological Booksellers is a collaborative organization of diverse theological bookstores and publishers working together to enhance the quality and ensure the future of theological bookselling. Only the bookseller members of the association are eligible to vote. Best General Interest BookA Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life Best Academic BookJustification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision Best Children’s BookListen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and Three Cups of Tea Book of the YearFeasting on the Word Publisher of the Year (tie)InterVarsity Press and Baker Publishing Group Christianity Today Book AwardsChristianity Today has recently announced its 2010 book award winners. The awards serve to recognize outstanding volumes that shed light on people, events, and ideas that shape evangelical life, thought, and mission. This year, 72 publishers nominated 472 titles published in 2009. The 2010 Christianity Today Book Awards: Apologetics/EvangelismGod is Great, God is Good: Why Believing in God is Reasonable and Responsible Biblical StudiesSin: A History Christianity and CultureSouls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults Christian LivingI Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life The Church/Pastoral Leadership (tie)Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion FictionNotes from Underground History/BiographyPredestination: The American Career of a Contentious Doctrine Missions/Global AffairsThe New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith SpiritualityLonging for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion Theology/Ethics (tie)Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith |