Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries Connections July 2011 Volume 1, Issue 5
Summer Switch With the summer upon us, the GPPM office administration is making a switch. David Pleins, who has been the Interim Director this past year, will be taking his leave. Dr. Pleins plans to take a sabbatical in the fall. As he finishes up this academic year, Bill Dohar is preparing to step in as the new Director of the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries starting in September. Dr. Dohar has been diligently working on the recent Jesuit School of Theology and the SCU GPPM collaboration. He will be a welcome addition to the office. During the summer, Dr. Gary Macy, the Chair of the Religious Studies Department will be interim Director. Have a great summer and see you in the fall!
A warm welcome and a‌ William J. Dohar grew up in Warren, Ohio. He earned a B.A. from Kent State University in 1974. He attended graduate school at the University of Notre Dame and earned advanced degrees there in Theology and Medieval History. In 1981 he began doctoral studies at the University of Toronto and attended the Pontificial Institute of Medieval Studies where he was awarded a licentiate (M.S.L.) in 1984. In 1987, after receiving his Ph.D., he returned to Notre Dame as an Assistant Professor at Notre Dame in 1994. He came to Santa Clara as a part-time lecturer in 2002, and since 2004, has been lecturing full-time in Religious Studies. He occasionally teaches in the Department of History at the University of California, Berkeley. To read more about Dr. Dohar click here.
fond farewell! Dr. Pleins earned all of his degrees from the University of Michigan, with a B.A. in Philosophy (1980), an M.A. in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies in 1987. His dissertation topic was poverty in the biblical tradition, which is also the subject of one of his most recent books. Pleins' interests extend beyond economics to encompass mythography, sapiential traditions in Job and Psalms, and theodicy. His area of interest for graduate courses is the Hebrew Bible. He has written When the Great Abyss Opened: Classic and Contemporary Readings of Noah's Flood; The Social Visions of the Hewbrew Bible: A Theological Introduction; and Psalms: Songs of Tragedy, Hope and Justice. To read more about Dr. Pleins click here.