UU is Templeton Finalist!

This is from Sharon Welch, Provost at Meadville Lombard:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Meadville Lombard Theological School has received exciting news and I could not wait to share it with you: Dr. Michael Hogue, our Assistant Professor of Theology has been notified that he is one of the twelve recipients of the 2008 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise. You may or may not have heard about this award, but this is like winning an Oscar in the realm of Theology!

The Templeton Award for Theological Promise recognizes the twelve best post-doctoral young scholars globally on the basis of their doctoral dissertations related to the topic of God and spirituality. An international and inter-religious panel of 25 judges evaluate the prize nominations. While primarily a theological prize, contributions from all academic disciplines and religious traditions are considered.

I am thrilled Mike has received this recognition. Those of you who have taken his classes, and those who have read his works, know full well that he is a brilliant scholar and a generous teacher and colleague. The quality of his intellect is matched only by the depth of his commitment to social and environmental justice. I am delighted to have him as a colleague, and am so grateful that we at Meadville Lombard are influenced daily by this incredibly gifted scholar and professor. I am also deeply gratified by the inspiration and intellectual leadership he brings to Unitarian Universalism, in particular, and to the field of Liberal Religion, more broadly. This award is world-wide recognition of what we at Meadville have known for some time, that Michael Hogue is a part of the promise we have made to ourselves—and to you—to be academically rigorous and unapologetically progressive.

I invite you to join me in offering your congratulations to Mike by sending him an email at mhogue@meadville.edu.