Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Duke University has awarded distinguished professorships to two Divinity School Professors, Jeremy Begbie and Norman Wirzba. The designation is the most prestigious faculty appointment that Duke offers, recognizing both exceptional achievement and potential for future achievement.

Begbie
Begbie
Begbie has been appointed the Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Professor of Theology. A member of the Divinity School faculty since 2009, Begbie teaches systematic theology and specializes in the interface between theology and the arts. The author of a number of books and articles, 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.
Wirzba
Wirzba

Wirzba has been appointed the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology, after serving as Professor of Theology, Ecology, and Agrarian Studies. He 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. 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 also begin a new appointment as Associate Dean of Faculty Development.

The distinguished professor appointments begin July 1, 2018.