Cardinal Newman Chair

Advance your goals in religion studies at APU, home of the only endowed chair of its kind in Alaska

Since its inception in 1991, the Cardinal Newman Chair at Alaska Pacific University remains the state’s only endowed academic chair of its kind dedicated to religion studies.

I’m honored to have served as Newman Chair for the past 15 years and to develop its efforts in religion education and faith formation. I’m looking forward to welcoming you to courses in religion, scripture and theology as you seek insight into these major forces that inspire human culture and actions.

The Newman Chair taps my passion for research in biblical study and theology. But it also rewards me as a teacher dedicated to community education and the adult learners who come to Newman courses to advance personal goals through study and reflection.

The Newman Chair at Alaska Pacific University is endowed by the Carr family, Anchorage-based philanthropists who value religion scholarship for its potential as a community bridge builder.

Newman Chair projects are wide ranging. In addition to supporting research that informs Newman Chair courses, the endowment makes it possible for community members not enrolled as APU students to audit Newman Chair courses for a modest fee.

Over the years, Newman Chair community outreach has sponsored lectures and forum, including a yearlong public education project in 2007 called Engaging Muslims: Religion, Culture and Politics. The project and its goal of promoting understanding remain among highlights of my tenure as Newman Chair.

Coinciding with the solstice and organized by the Newman Chair, the Midsummer’s Light Bible Institute is held biennially and attracts nationally ranked authors, researchers and speakers to APU.

The chair is named for John Henry Cardinal Newman, a 19th century English educator, philosopher, Anglican priest and theologian whose research and contemplation led him to seek entry to the Catholic Church. Newman’s name today is attached to centers at U.S. public and private universities seeking to honor his reverence for education.

As Newman Chair and as a full-time APU faculty member, I’m looking forward to helping you develop your interests and pursue your personal and professional goals. Welcome!

– Dr. Regina Boisclair, Newman Chair of Catholic Theology