Office of the Dean
College of Arts and Sciences

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William Madges, Ph.D. became Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Joseph's University on June 1, 2006.

Educational background and experiences

After completing the Honors A. B. degree at Xavier Univeristy (1974), Madges pursued graduate studies in philosophy at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität (Freiburg, Germany) and in theology at the Eberhard-Karls Universität (Tübingen, Germany). He earned the M.A. (1976) degree and the Ph.D. degree in Christian theology (1986) from the University of Chicago. In the course of his graduate education he was an international ITT Fellow, German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Fellow, University of Chicago Fellow, as well as a Fellow in the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion. From 1983 to 2006 he taught theology at Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he also chaired the department for nine years. In 1987 he received the Bishop Fenwick Teacher of the Year Award at Xavier. In 1996 he was promoted to the position of full Professor of Theology. He served as Director of the interdisciplinary Ethics/Religion and Society Program at Xavier from 1997 to 2000. During the spring 1999 semester Madges was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tübingen in Germany. Madges is also Vice President of A Blessing to One Another, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation, which has created and manages a 2,200 square foot, multimedia traveling exhibit that documents the special relationship between Pope John Paul II and the Jewish people.

Scholarship

In addition to publishing articles in the Journal of Religion, The Heythrop Journal, the New Westminster Dictionary of Church History and in other edited books, he has authored two books: God and the World (Orbis Books, 1998) and The Core of Christian Faith: D. F. Strauss and His Catholic Critics (Peter Lang, 1987); co-authored two books: Faith, Religion, Theology: A Contemporary Introduction, revised and expanded edition (Twenty-Third Publications, 1997); The Catechism: Highlights and Commentary (Twenty Third Publications, 1994); and edited three books: Vatican II Forty Years Later (Orbis Books, 2006); The Many Marks of the Church (Bayard/Twenty-Third Publications, 2006); and Vatican II: Forty Personal Stories (Bayard/Twenty-Third Publications, 2003). The Catholic Press Association awarded Faith, Religion, Theology: A Contemporary Introduction the Award for Best Educational Book in 1991.