Two GPR Faculty Appointed as Distinguished Professors

Two of our Graduate Program in Religion faculty have been appointed Distinguished Professor chairs. Dr. Jeremy Begbie and  Dr. Norman Wirzba, whose primary appointments are in Duke Divinity School, have been recognized with this, the highest honor awarded by the University to outstanding faculty.

Dean Elaine Heath writes, "Dr. Begbie has been appointed the Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology. Dr. Begbie has been with the Divinity School since 2009. His work has focused on the intersection between systematic theology and the arts, particularly music. The author of several texts and numerous articles, Dr. Begbie recently published A Peculiar Orthodoxy: Reflections on Theology and the Arts and Redeeming Transcendence in the Arts: Bearing Witness to the Triune God. He also was co-editor of the nine-volume Ashgate Studies in Theology, Imagination and the Arts. As founder and director of the Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts, he has collaborated across the University to bring musicians and visual artists to campus, and last year composed Blue Madonna, which was premiered with musicians from across the United States to celebrate the opening of the Carlo Dolci exhibit at the Nasher Museum of Art.

Dr. Wirzba has been appointed as the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology, after serving as Professor of Theology, Ecology, and Agrarian Studies. Dr. Wirzba has been on the faculty of the Divinity School since 2008 and has held a joint appointment with the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.  He is also a Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics His research and teaching has focused on the intersections of theology, philosophy, ecology, and agrarian and environmental studies, with the goal of understanding and promoting practices that can equip both rural and urban church communities to be more faithful and responsible members of creation. Dr. Wirzba has published several texts and many articles including Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight. His recent books include Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity, and Food and Faith: A Theology of Eating. As of July 1 Dr. Wirzba will begin his new appointment as Associate Dean of Faculty Development.

The Distinguished Professor appointments begin July 1, 2018.  Please join me in congratulating Dr. Wirzba and Dr. Begbie."