News

An internationally known scholar has been appointed Duke Divinity School’s first William K. Warren Foundation Professor of Catholic Theology. Paul Griffiths, currently Schmitt Chair of Catholic Studies at the University of Illinois in Chicago, will assume the Duke position in January.

In making the announcement, Dean L. Gregory Jones called Griffiths an “outstanding scholar and teacher.” Jones said the new position will provide the university with an “opportunity to strengthen our ties with the Catholic community at Duke and in the Triangle area.”

The Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge, Bishop of the Diocese of Raleigh, extended his congratulations to Doctor Griffiths on his selection to the new position. “Professor Griffiths’ academic experience, scholarly writings and the high respect in which he is held by the theological community make him an excellent choice for this newly endowed Chair at Duke Divinity School,” Bishop Burbidge said. “I look forward to working closely with him and will seek his collaboration in the important and essential work of bringing increased understanding and recognition of our Catholic faith to the campus at Duke University, to the Diocese of Raleigh and our entire region.”

Griffiths is sole author of eight books, including his most recent The Vice of Curiosity: an Essay on Intellectual Appetite (CMU Press, 2006). He has also co-authored and edited seven more, including Reason and the Reasons of Faith (T. & T. Clark, 2005), which he worked on with Duke Divinity School’s Reinhard Hutter.

Griffiths said his interest in the Warren Professorship was based on several considerations, one of which was the number of close colleagues he has at Duke, including Professor Hutter. “I’m eager to work more closely with them, to teach with them and to do more collaborative projects,” he added.

Griffiths, who was born in England, said another reason for seeking the Duke position was the opportunity to work in the South, noting that all of his life in America has been in Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. “My increasing sense is that the interesting future of Catholicism is actually going to be in the South and Southwest, not so much in the Midwest,” Griffiths said. “In the South, new things are happening. Historically Protestant country is becoming less so with increasing Catholic growth and I’m interested in figuring that out.” Griffiths, who was raised in the Anglican faith, was received into the Catholic Church in 1996.

Father Joe Vetter, Campus Minister of the Duke Newman Center, explained that while the Duke Divinity School is a Protestant school of theology with a Methodist foundation, many of its theological courses include content that is provided at Catholic universities. “The Warren Chair,” Father Vetter said, “was established to provide a specific Catholic component for those preparing for ministry in the Catholic Church and for those who desire to know more about Catholic belief and practice.

“It is my hope that collaboration among the Diocese, the Newman Center and the Divinity Schools will help us to better identify ways the University and the local Catholic community can work together to promote Catholic thought and understanding and to prepare and support those who work in ministry,” Father Vetter added.

The professorship was created by the William K. Warren Foundation and the Warren family of Oklahoma. Duke Divinity School explained that the endowment agreement calls for the individual to be “a scholar of true eminence and excellence.”

In addition to his professional experience and scholarly writing, Griffiths was a founder of the Lumen Christi Institute, which is dedicated to the expansion of Catholic presence in higher education and the strengthening of Catholic intellectual culture.

“We are blessed,” said Father Vetter, “that the Duke Divinity School and the W. K. Warren Foundation have taken this important step and have chosen a professor who is a leader in this transformative effort.”