Foundations establish religious studies professorships

Gifts totaling $2.4 million from four private foundations will establish professorships in Roman Catholic thought and modern Jewish studies for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas.

The professorships, which are part of an ongoing effort to diversify the study of world religions and the humanities at KU, were funded through gifts to the Kansas University Endowment Association from foundations in Topeka, Lawrence, Wichita and Kansas City, Mo.

The Sabatini Family Foundation of Topeka pledged $500,000 to create the Caldwell-Sabatini Professorship in Roman Catholic Thought Fund. The private foundation of the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center in Lawrence gave $500,000 for the same professorship through a bequest left for the center by the late Jack and Delores Caldwell of Topeka.

The Robert M. Beren Foundation of Wichita pledged $500,000 to create the Robert M. Beren Distinguished Professorship in Modern Jewish Studies.

Matching gifts were provided for both funds through previous gifts from the Hall Family Foundation of Kansas City.

"These professorship funds are important contributions to humanities education at the University of Kansas," Chancellor Robert Hemenway said. "Through the generosity of the Beren Foundation, the Sabatini family and the St. Lawrence Center, generations of students will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the religious and cultural traditions that have shaped our civilization."

A portion of the interest earned on each endowed professorship will fund a salary stipend and provide support for professional travel, graduate student researchers, equipment or other materials for the faculty member awarded the professorship. Nationwide searches to select candidates for the professorships will begin this fall. Both professors selected will be associated with the KU department of religious studies, which launched a Jewish studies undergraduate minor in 2001. The department recently also added three new professors who teach courses in the study of Japanese religion, Islam and American Indian religion.

"The outstanding faculty members awarded these professorships will teach courses in the department of religious studies or courses on closely related topics in other departments in the humanities or social sciences," said Paul Mirecki, department chair. "They are to be interdisciplinary professorships that will expose KU students to a scholarly approach to two world religions."

The Caldwell-Sabatini professor will teach at least two courses each year on some aspect of the Roman Catholic tradition, such as the history of Catholicism or Roman Catholic thought. The individual awarded the Beren professorship will teach at least three courses in areas such as the history of Jewish people, the state of Israel, modern Israel, contemporary Judaism, the history of Zionism or the history of Judaism. The Beren professor also may advise students and conduct public lectures on subjects in the area of Jewish studies and modern Israel.

Mirecki said that religious studies courses at KU use an anthropological approach to the study of religion, employing the methods generally used in the humanities and the social sciences.

"We don't teach students how to be religious," he said. "Instead, we study religion as a human activity and teach students how to study and understand the basic features of a variety of religions within the natural historical, cultural and political contexts out of which those religions developed and continue to grow."

The Sabatini Family Foundation was established by Frank Sabatini, b'55, l'57, chairman of Capital City Bank & Trust of Topeka and former chair of the Kansas Board of Regents. The foundation's mission is to provide support for scholarships, higher education and civic affairs in Kansas.

The St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, 1631 Crescent Road, was constructed in 1986. The center's mission is to teach and advance the Catholic intellectual, spiritual and moral tradition in higher education for KU students, faculty and staff.

Robert Beren, a longtime Wichita resident who now lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He is the owner and chairman of Berexco Inc., an oil and gas exploration company based in Kansas, and is chairman of Beren Corp., an oil and gas production and securities investment company. He is owner of Central Crude Corp. as well. The Robert M. Beren Foundation Inc. provides grants in higher education, human services and Jewish organizations, among others.

The gifts for the Caldwell-Sabatini and Beren professorships count toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history. KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of KU through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support. KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for KU.