The Desmond Tutu Chair of Global Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation Studies

The president of Butler University, Jim Danko, made this announcement today:

Dear Butler Community Members,

 

Butler University values its Indianapolis neighbors and opportunities to collaborate with them on innovative projects. This announcement concerns one such very fulfilling partnership.

 

During the 2012-2013 academic year, world-renowned South African theologian Allan Boesak held a joint visiting appointment at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary (CTS). While at Butler, he worked with students in a number of classes in peace studies, political science, religion, and philosophy. He also spoke as a part of the Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series.

 

I am pleased to announce that beginning in August, Boesak will continue his affiliation with Butler and CTS and will hold the title of The Desmond Tutu Chair of Global Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation Studies. This title represents Boesak’s influential activism against racial apartheid in the 1980s in South Africa, where he worked closely with Archbishop Tutu and Nelson Mandela. The first African elected president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Boesak has continued to teach and advocate for social justice, reconciliation, and interfaith dialogue around the world.

 

Archbishop Tutu has provided his enthusiastic encouragement and support for his good friend Boesak, and his deep gratitude to Butler and CTS for collaborating on this appointment in his name. 

 

In each of the next four academic years, Boesak will teach three courses: two will be taught at CTS, beginning in fall 2012, and one will be at Butler, beginning in spring 2014. Students from both institutions will be able to enroll in courses taught at either institution. In addition to his teaching, Boesak will work to share the global impact of Desmond Tutu’s values and thinking with students, colleagues, and the broader central Indiana community. You can read more about Boesak’s appointment in our news release.  

 

This appointment represents just one of the many exciting opportunities that CTS President Matthew Myer Boulton and I are currently exploring for our institutions to collaborate academically, expanding the options and intellectual rigor of our respective curricula.

 

We look forward to the fruits of this partnership and to Allan Boesak’s ongoing contributions to our students and our University.

 

Sincerely,

James M. Danko, President

Butler University