Associate Professor of Theology Mary Ann Hinsdale, I.H.M. has been awarded the St. Elizabeth Seton Medal, established in 1966 by Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, OH, to recognize distinguished women in theology. The medal was presented to Sr. Hinsdale at an Oct. 2 event, where she delivered an address titled "Feminist Theologies: Where Have We Been? Where are We Going? How Will We Get There?"
The St. Elizabeth Seton Medal is named in honor of the foundress of the Sisters of Charity, the congregation that established Mount St. Joseph University in 1920 and continues to sponsor it today. Seton Medal recipients are selected for their contributions to an area of theology, including scripture, systematics, spirituality, ministry, and historical theology. They must possess a doctorate in a related field and be distinguished by a career in higher education noted for excellence in teaching and/or making a major contribution to scholarship within the field.
"I am honored and humbled to receive this award and to join the company of its distinguished past recipients," said Sr. Hinsdale, a faculty member at Boston College since 2000. She co-directed the University's interdisciplinary minor in Catholic Studies from its establishment in 2006 until the end of this past academic year.
Sr. Hinsdale, who holds a doctorate in systematic theology from University of St. Michael's College, Toronto, is known for her research and teaching on ecclesiology, theological anthropology, and feminist theologies. Sr. Hinsdale is the author of numerous articles and book chapters and the author/editor of several books, including Women Shaping Theology and the award-winning Faith That Transforms. Essays in Honor of Gregory Baum.
She is a past president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and recipient of the CTSA's Ann O'Hara Graff Award.
Other members of the Boston College Theology Department who have been honored with the Seton Medal are M. Shawn Copeland (2011), Lisa Sowle Cahill (2001) and Pheme Perkins (1997).
--Kathleen Sullivan | University Communications