Richard Valantasis

This from Religion Press Release Services:

ILIFF NAMES PROFESSORS TO ENDOWED CHAIRS

June 29, 2005 -- (DENVER) -- The Iliff School of Theology has appointed Sheila Greeve Davaney as Harvey H. Potthoff Professor of Christian Theology and Richard Valantasis as Clifford E. Baldridge Professor of Biblical Studies.

"Both of these distinguished professors are strongly supported by faculty colleagues and by leading academic figures in other parts of the country,” said J. Philip Wogaman, interim president. “Both have served Iliff long and well in their scholarship and in preparing generations of graduate students for service in the church and academic world. We are proud that they have accepted these endowed positions." . . . .

. . . . The Clifford E. Baldridge Chair of Biblical Studies honors the late Clifford E. Baldridge, a long-time trustee and generous supporter of the school.

Valantasis remarked on accepting the appointment, “I am delighted to be appointed to the Clifford E. Baldridge Chair of Biblical Studies. For me it is the apex of my academic and teaching career. I feel deeply honored to have been selected by my Iliff and other professional colleagues. I have always been enlivened by the combination of academic research, classroom teaching, and the day-to-day life of the Church, especially the Church’s love for the Scriptures. The appointment provides me the platform for continuing in those things that give me life.”

Valantasis, an ordained Episcopal priest, was dean of Hartford Seminary prior to joining the Iliff faculty as a professor of New Testament and Christian origins. He was elected to the Studiorum Novi Testamentum Societas in 2000, while also serving as a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, the American Academy of Religion, and other academic and professional associations.

###

The Iliff School of Theology is a graduate theological school of the United Methodist Church, serving more than 38 different faith traditions. Founded in 1892, the seminary provides several degree programs, including a joint Ph.D. program with the University of Denver.
----------