Renowned Theologian to Visit SBU

The St. Bonaventure community looks to benefit from the newest Lenna Visiting Professor Dr. William M. Shea.

Shea’s career has focused on the intersection of the Catholic intellectual tradition with modern culture. He has held academic positions at the Catholic University of America, the University of South Florida, St. Louis University and the College of the Holy Cross. Additionally, Shea has been a fellow at Harvard, Yale, and the Smithsonian Institution.

Shea has authored two books, “The Naturalist and the Supernatural: A Study in Horizon and an American Philosophy of Religion” and “The Lion and the Lamb: Evangelicals and Catholics in America.” He has also written more than 50 articles in scholarly and professional papers and edited three volumes of academic essays on American religion.

Dr. John Apczynski and the Department of Theology at St. Bonaventure nominated Shea, a Columbia graduate, for the Lenna Visiting Professorship.

“This work directly addresses what the community at St. Bonaventure officially considers its primary academic purpose, namely to explore the relevance of the Catholic intellectual heritage for contemporary life in the United States and globally,” said Apczynski.

Shea will give two public lectures: the first, “Cardinal Ratzinger and Me,” on Thursday, March 18, at 7 p.m. in the Dresser Auditorium of the Murphy Professional Building at SBU, and the second, “The Cost of Intellectual Solidarity,” in Plassmann Room 111 at SBU on Monday, March 22, at 4 p.m. He will also participate in classroom discussions and exercises.

The Lenna Endowed Visiting Professorship is made possible through the gifts of Elizabeth S. Lenna Fairbank and the late Reginald A. Lenna of Jamestown. The endowment is designed to bring distinguished scholars in their field to St. Bonaventure and Jamestown Community College.

The university usually hosts one or two Lenna Visiting Professors per academic year. The endowment allows a school or department to bring in a professor who might not have been considered due to financial restrictions.

The Lenna Visiting Professor stays on campus for two weeks, and Shea will be the 24th since its establishment in 1990.