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Ted Peters named Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy

By Kari VanDerVeen
July 8, 2008

Ted Peters, professor of systematic theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., has been named the Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy at St. Olaf College.

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Peters, a renowned author and scholar whose work focuses on the dialogue between theology and science, will serve in this capacity for the entire 2009 calendar year. During his residency, he will teach during the Interim and fall semester, sponsor colloquia and dialogues with faculty and students, and lead a faculty seminar.

President David R. Anderson '74 thanked Professor of Religion John Barbour, the inaugural holder of the Marty Chair, for his work in that position over the past four years. The president noted that the appointment of Peters, a scholar renowned for his work in the areas of science and technology, is the perfect capstone for an exciting period of development and academics at the college that will commence with the opening and October 2008 dedication of the new Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and a 2008-09 college-wide academic theme focusing on Science and the Liberal Arts.

"We are grateful that Professor Peters has been able to accommodate his busy schedule in order to spend time with us and share his expertise, and we look forward to welcoming him to St. Olaf as the college's second Martin E. Marty Professor of Religion and the Academy," Anderson said.

Peters holds degrees from Michigan State University, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Wittenberg University, and the University of Chicago, where he studied with Marty. He has also taught at Newberry College and Loyola University and has served as a pastor in Illinois and New York.

A noted theologian and ethicist, Peters is the author, co-author, or editor of more than a dozen books, including The Stem Cell Debate; Can You Believe in God and Evolution?: A Guide for the Perplexed; Science, Theology, and Ethics; Bridging Science and Religion; Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom; and GOD: The World?s Future: Systemic Theology for a New Era. He is the editor of Dialog: A Journal of Theology, and serves as co-editor of Theology and Science, the scholarly journal of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.