The Religious Studies department continues to show its resilience as we double down on our longstanding strengths in research, teaching and mentoring in the face of a steady decrease in faculty numbers. Faculty continue to produce cutting edge research: publishing articles, directing grants, and serving in important roles within their disciplines. For example, Professor Cates is serving as the co-editor of the Journal of Religious Ethics and Hyaeweol Choi is the current president of the Association of Asian Studies. Faculty research is closely connected to other responsibilities, especially teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level.
Our goal is to make the religious studies department a hub for undergraduate research. To that end, we have recently instituted two new scholarships for which all of our majors are eligible to apply. The first offers research support, up to $600, to do a research project guided by a faculty member; the second offers travel support, up to $800, which students can use for domestic or international travel for research or training related to their program in Religious Studies. We are also taking steps to expand our events for undergraduates and outreach to the community, continuing the monthly lunches in the third-floor atrium, where students in all of our classes have the opportunity to meet with each other and faculty; and through special events, such as the departmental Game Night in October and Brandon Dean’s pre-Halloween tour of the Oakland Cemetery, which was also open to the entire Iowa City community. Finally, we have instituted an undergraduate Religious Studies Steering Committee to plan more events.
We are also instituting a new series of visits, talks, and presentations by departmental alumni. This will highlight the successes of our graduates, and also show our current majors and minors the various possibilities that a degree in Religious Studies opens up in our complex economy. The first visitor, Lori Rath, a partner at a law firm in Seattle, graduated with a B.A. from our department in 1993, before going on to further study of religion in Scotland and eventually obtained a J.D. from the University of Washington. She discussed her career path with our undergraduate students and faculty at a lunch in November. We are updating our alumni records and will host at least one such event per semester in the coming years.
The graduate program, though smaller than it once was, maintains its high quality. We have implemented several new changes to the curriculum, such as giving students the option of take-home comprehensive exams, which require a more extensive essay than the 3-hour, same day format. Our graduate students continue to thrive in coursework, research, and teaching. They have received a number of competitive university awards, including the post-comprehensive fellowship and the dissertation writing fellowship. As a department, we have a commitment to fund graduate student participation in conferences at which they present papers or otherwise participate; and also research travel for their dissertation when applications to other sources are unsuccessful, or to supplement other funding. Our alumni continue to thrive. To name just a few examples, Pranav Prakash, Ph.D. 2021, is finishing up a Junior Research Fellowship at Oxford, and will join Florida State’s Religious Studies department as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2025. Kayla Wheeler, Ph.D. 2018, was recently selected as a Young Scholar in American Religion; Gwendolyn Gillson, Ph.D. 2018, recently published an edited volume, The Essential Guide to Buddhism (Bloomsbury, 2024).
As we prepare for our 100th Anniversary, we will continue to maintain frequent communications with out alumni and our supporters. We look forward to being in touch!
Paul Dilley