Baron gift, Patterson appointment invigorate social justice program

Sara Patterson, professor of theological studies, has been appointed the inaugural Linda '73 and Mark Baron Professor of Social Justice Education. The endowed professorship is made possible through a $1 million gift from Linda Pirtle Baron ’73 and her husband, Mark.

Patterson, an award-winning professor, scholar and author, joined Hanover’s faculty in 2008. She earned the 2022 Arthur and Ilene Baynham Outstanding Teaching Award and also received the Stanley Totten Award for outstanding service to the campus community in 2013.

Patterson teaches courses in theology, history of Christianity, religion in the Americas, confronting poverty in Indiana and introduction to gender studies. Her research interests investigate the intersections of religious experience, place and community.

The appointment includes salary incentives, discretionary spending for research and funding for student social justice-oriented projects.

The financial support greatly expands the reach and impact of initiatives on Hanover’s campus, including the launch of the Templeton Social Justice Leadership Program. The program will create student leadership opportunities and foster an active culture of dialogue, engagement and support.

Previously, the Barons have been actively involved with the Benjamin Templeton Scholars Program and served on the Templeton Scholar Advisory Board. In 2018, the couple established the Linda and Mark Baron Endowed Benjamin Templeton Scholars Retreat Fund. The endowed gift supports the Benjamin Templeton Scholars annual retreat, providing lodging, meals, transportation, supplies and honoraria for the excursion, which promotes issues of diversity education, tolerance and social justice.

Hanover’s social justice programs are named for Benjamin Templeton, a free Black man from Chillicothe, Ohio, who began his Hanover education in 1832 and spent five years at the College. Templeton later led the free Black community in Philadelphia, where he served as pastor of the Second African Presbyterian Church.