Tucker J. Gregor
Tucker J. Gregor is a fifth year PhD Candidate (ABD) in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa. He is trained as a scholar religion and ethics. He works primarily with the Thomistic Virtue Theory tradition; however, his work overlaps with broader concerns and conversations in the history of Christian ethics regarding the extent of and constraints on human freedom. His research draws on interdisciplinary concepts and conversations in Religious Ethics, Thomas Aquinas Studies, Ethics of Vulnerability, Ethics of Love, Cultural Studies, and Critical Theory to investigate the relationship between human vulnerability and moral agency (the capacity for persons to act as agents capable of making and being held accountable for moral judgments and actions). In his dissertation, Gregor argues that the potential for individual and collective flourishing depends on the practices through which persons relate to their human vulnerability because these practices make virtues and moral community possible.
Tucker completed his B.A. in Theology/Religious Studies and Psychology in 2017. He continued his education and earned an M.A. in Divinity at University of Chicago in 2019. He then spent two years teaching Catholic theology at the high school level before entering the Ph.D. program in Religious Studies at University of Iowa in Fall 2021. Gregor received a Graduate Certificate in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies in Spring 2025.
Tucker spent his first two years at Iowa teaching Introduction to Rhetoric (RHET:1030) as the instructor of record. In his second year, he was chosen to co-lead the Rhetoric Professional Development Program which prepares and trains new instructors to teach undergraduate students. He is now in his third year working as an Editorial Assistant on the Journal of Religious Ethics (JRE) and is advised by Dr. Diana Fritz Cates. Tucker also coordinates the Department of Religious Studies Faculty and Graduate Student Colloquium. He lives with his two cats and enjoys cooking, baking, working out, and practicing his musical instruments.
Courses taught:
RHET 1030—Introduction to Rhetoric
RHET 535—Colloquium: Teaching Rhetoric
Publications:
Gregor, Tucker J. “Introduction to the Focus Issue on Moral Dilemmas.” Journal of Religious Ethics 53, no. 1 (2025): 6-9.
Gregor, Tucker J. “Book Review: Growing in Virtue: Aquinas on Habit by William C. Mattison III.” Modern Theology 41, no.1 (2025): 365-368.
