Attridge Named Dean of Yale Divinity School

President Richard C. Levin today announced the appointment of Harold Attridge, the Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, as dean of the Yale Divinity School.

Attridge, an active Roman Catholic layman, came to Yale in 1997 from the University of Notre Dame, where he was professor of theology and, from 1991-1996, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters. He received his A.B. from Boston College in 1967, a B.A. and M.A. from Cambridge University, where he studied as a Marshall Scholar, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1975. He was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard between 1974 and 1977. In addition to Notre Dame, he also taught at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

“I am very pleased to have the opportunity to entrust the stewardship of the School to a distinguished scholar who participates daily in every aspect of the life of the Divinity School,” Levin said. “An acknowledged leader of the faculty, Professor Attridge has chaired the building committee through the School’s ambitious current renovation and has been leading another committee preparing the School for its reaccreditation. He has a deep understanding of the School and the enthusiastic support of the faculty and staff. He will have the full support of the University as he leads the School to carry out its mission of preparing individuals for the ordained and lay ministries of the Christian churches, encouraging the study of religion in a University environment and shaping the role of religion in society by providing theological education for its leaders.”

“This is an exciting time to be involved in the life of Yale Divinity School,” Attridge said. “The school enjoys splendidly renovated facilities on Sterling Memorial Quadrangle, an outstanding faculty of dedicated teachers and scholars, a magnificent library, an impressive and diverse student body and loyal alumni throughout the world. With the strong support of President Levin and Provost Richard, YDS is well positioned to continue to play its leading role in theological education. I am honored to have been asked to serve as dean and look forward to working with the Divinity School community in the years ahead.”

Attridge’s research has explored issues in Hellenistic popular philosophy, Judaism in the Hellenistic period, the exegesis of the New Testament and the history and literature of early Christianity. His publications include “First-century Cynicism in the Epistles of Heraclitus,” “The Interpretation of Biblical History in the Antiquitates Judaicae of Flavius Josephus,” “Nag Hammadi Codex I: the Jung Codex” and many other books, articles, essays and reviews.

The new dean, whose appointment is effective July 1, is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, which he served as President in 2001, the Catholic Biblical Association and other scholarly organizations. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, The Second Century (now the Journal of Early Christian Studies), The Society of Biblical Literature’s Texts and Translations Series, Nag Hammadi and Manichaean Studies and the Hermeneia commentary series.

Attridge will succeed Rebecca Chopp, who was recently named the president of Colgate University.