NAPS - The North American Patristics Society» Member Updates

Harry Rosenberg, 1923-2010

Secretary-Treasurer — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:45:26 +0000

NAPS learned recently of the death in September 2010 of Harry Rosenberg, one of the first members of NAPS and a contributor to its founding as a society. A obituary from Colorado State University’s news page may be found here.

A scholarship fund was established in Harry’s honor at Colorado State. Those interested in donating to the scholarship fund may click here to do so and to learn more information.

NAPS wishes to thank Harry’s son, Stan Rosenberg, who is also a member of NAPS, for bringing the news of the scholarship fund to the attention of NAPS.

Death of Gene Vance

Secretary-Treasurer — Fri, 20 May 2011 19:28:07 +0000

The Society is saddened to learn of the recent passing of Professor Eugene Vance, whose work and colleagueship are well known to many members of NAPS. For more information, click here.

Appointment of Patristics Monograph Series Editor

Secretary-Treasurer — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:50:52 +0000

The NAPS Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Christopher Beeley to the editorship of the Society’s Patristic Monograph Series. Effective 1 July 2011 Professor Beeley will replace in that role Professor David Hunter, who has served ably as interim director of the Series for several years. After 1 July 2011 relevant correspondence and inquiries should be directed to Dr. Christopher A. Beeley, Yale Divinity School, 409 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511 or christopher.beeley@yale.edu. The Board also extends its sincere gratitude to all members of the Society who expressed their interest in the position.

Robert Markus Prize

Secretary-Treasurer — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:56:47 +0000

The Professor Robert Markus Prize
The Professor Robert Markus Prize is being established to celebrate Robert’s contribution to academic life at Nottingham. The prize will be awarded in any particular academic year for the best M.A. dissertation in the Humanities (History, Theology, Philosophy, Ancient History, Archaeology, Art History), loosely in the period of Robert’s main interest prior to about 1000 A.D. From the summer of 2011, these departments will all be within the newly created School of Humanities.

We are inviting all who knew Robert to join together in creating a prize fund.

To make a contribution, cheques should be made payable to ‘The University of Nottingham’ and sent to:

Professor John Beckett
School of History
University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD

The University has charitable status, so gifts from UK tax payers can benefit from Gift Aid.
Overseas donors are advised that you can donate to The Professor Robert Markus Prize by clicking here. If you donate via the website, please put in the COMMENTS box ‘The Professor Robert Markus Prize’, and do not check the box about gift aid (which is for UK donors only).

Furthermore, under a gift matching scheme currently being funded by the UK government, all gifts received for the prize fund before 31st July 2011 will be doubled.

The prize is intended to ensure that Robert’s legacy at Nottingham will be enshrined in an academic award, and your generosity in his memory will help to provide encouragement and reward to future students. The School of History is working with the University’s Development Office to create the fund. They will liaise with you as needed to ensure that your support is maximised as appropriate through both these schemes, to answer any other questions you may have about your support, and to acknowledge and receipt all gifts.

Inquiries? Contact Stephen Markus on 01246 279611, or by email at steve.markus@gmail.com.

Passing of Prof. Tom Sizgorich

Secretary-Treasurer — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:35:48 +0000

NAPS is deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death of Tom Sizgorich, Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine. Tom was an exacting and innovative young scholar and will be greatly missed by all who knew him and his work. To contribute to the memorial fund that has been established in Tom’s name please go to http://www.ams.ucsb.edu.

Can Gregory the Great blog & twitter? Yes he can.

guest — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:30:43 +0000

Gregory the Great’s correspondence mirrors the historical context of his day and age. The reader gets to know his views on the affairs of the world, his spirituality; how he communicated as leader of the Church, diplomat, or as friend.

I started a blog and twitter about the 800 plus letters, using The Letters of Gregory the Great, trans. John R.C. Martyn, published by Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies. The concept is simple: every day or so a twitter with a quote, linked to a blog which quotes the paragraph the quote can be found.

I wanted to read all of his letters and consider this project a good (and fun) way to keep me going. So, I started to read every single letter, and I’ll blog and twitter what catches my eyes. I hope it will deepen my understanding of Gregory the Great. And I also hope followers will be inspired by it. I do feel Gregory the Great still has something to say to us.”

link to twitter: http://twitter.com/Saint_Gregory
link to blog: http://letters-gregory-the-great.blogspot.com

Theologian dr Arnold Smeets

Centre of Patristics CPO, Utrecht, the Netherlands

NAPS Constitution Amendment (for vote at 2010 meeting)

Secretary-Treasurer — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:42:15 +0000

Dear NAPS members,

One of the topics that has been raised most persistently and with greatest passion in recent years at both the general business meetings and the meetings of the Board of Directors of NAPS is the importance of our graduate student members and the need to support that constituency effectively. Consequently, at the 2009 business meeting of our society, the membership approved a change in our By-laws allowing for an expansion from seven to eight in the number of Directors that may be elected to the Board: this was done to pave the way for the creation of a student representative to the Board. It should be said that nothing prevents student members also being elected to any of the four positions for Members-at-large, though this has to my knowledge never occurred in the relatively brief history of our society. What is desired is to secure the voice of at least one student member on the Board every year by the addition of this new position.

The ad-hoc appointment of graduate students to the Board in 2008-09 and 2009-10 has already enriched our conversations and planning. This was evidenced in the last Annual Meeting by the addition of a pre-conference publishing workshop and a graduate student breakfast hosted by present and former presidents of NAPS; this year we plan to continue the initiative with a pre-conference teaching workshop and another graduate student breakfast. There are also further conversations underway regarding how we might best mentor and financially support graduate students who are submitting paper proposals for the annual meeting. It is expected that a regular student voice on the Board will continue to contribute to shaping the direction of the society in a way that fosters further integration of graduate students into the life of the society and its Annual Meeting.

In order to make the appointment of a student member to the Board of Directors permanent, the Board has drafted an amendment to the NAPS Constitution that will be considered and voted upon at the NAPS business meeting on Friday, May 28, 2010. The NAPS Constitution requires that the society’s members be notified of any proposed amendments at least thirty days prior to any vote. We are therefore circulating this proposal in advance of the meeting; changes are marked in bold:

RESOLVED, the NAPS Board proposes amending the NAPS Constitution Article II, Section 3 to read,

“There shall be a Board of Directors composed of the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary‑Treasurer and FIVE other members elected by the membership, ONE OF WHOM MUST BE A STUDENT. FOUR OF these latter FIVE members shall be elected for a two‑year term and shall not be eligible to succeed themselves immediately; THE STUDENT MEMBER SHALL BE ELECTED FOR A ONE-YEAR TERM. Division of service shall be determined by lot. Editors of Society publications, appointed by the Board of Directors, shall be ex officio non‑voting members of the Board of Directors. It shall be the task of the Board of Directors to conduct the business of the Society in the period between Annual Meetings.”

RESOLVED, the NAPS Board proposes amending the NAPS By-Laws Article II, Section 3, Part D to read,

“The members shall elect four (4) additional directors for a term of two (2) years each AND ONE (1) STUDENT DIRECTOR FOR A TERM OF ONE (1) YEAR. THE TERMS OF THOSE DIRECTORS SERVING FOR TWO YEARS [in cases of enlargement of the Board of Directors, terms] shall be staggered so that half of the directors shall be elected in one year and the other half in the subsequent year.”

Gratefully yours,

Virginia Burrus
NAPS President, 2009-2010