Alumni Chair in Humanities

The Alumni Chair in Humanities was established in 1993, with support from a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and matching support from University alumni. The first four faculty members who held the chair, Eugene R. August, Ph.D., Michael H. Barnes, Ph.D., Richard P. Benedum, D.M.A., and John Heitmann, Ph.D. set high standards for this office. Their effectiveness in promoting the centrality of the humanities on the UD campus is impossible to overestimate, and has laid the groundwork for all those who follow them in the office

The office of the Alumni Chair in Humanities provides the means for academic advancement in several programs throughout the university. The administration of the chair provides leadership in establishing the humanities in the curriculum and in the broader intellectual life of the community. The chair maintains a visible presence on campus through the development of interdisciplinary courses, symposia, research and the program funding it provides. Thanks to the efforts of the chair, members of the UD community and beyond can enjoy participation in programs such as the Annual Humanities Symposium and student writing contests.

The office assists other humanities faculty in developing interdisciplinary courses, organizes an annual humanities symposium, conducts research in the humanities, manages the humanities library fund, and maintains a visible presence for the humanities on campus.

About the Current Chair

Pat JohnsonDr. Patricia Johnson joined the University of Dayton in 1979 as a faculty member in philosophy. She has served as director of the women's studies program, chair of the philosophy department and associate dean for connected learning in the College of Arts and Sciences, where she was responsible for overseeing the University's general education program. She designed and implemented the Humanities Fellows program and the Jacob Program in Professional Ethics, which emphasizes ethics across the curriculum. She helped pioneer and obtain National Endowment for the Humanities funding for the University’s innovative Core program, an interdisciplinary sequence of courses that allows students to experience the integrated character of the liberal arts.

Dr. Johnson, who holds graduate degrees in comparative religion and philosophy, also established the University's B.A. program in philosophy for the Marianists in Bangalore, India. She is deeply committed to connected and integrated learning and teaching. About her role as an educator in a Catholic, Marianist community, Dr. Johnson says, "Early in my academic career, I began to realize that education is something that takes place in a community. The life of such a community takes nurturing. If what service is about is nurturing community, then to approach each person as if they might be your friend is a good thing to do."

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