Meet the Staff

boisi center for religion and american public life

Alan Wolfe

Director

Alan Wolfe is the founding director of the Boisi Center and Professor of Political Science at Boston College. He is author of more than a dozen books, including, most recently, The Future of Liberalism (2009), Does American Democracy Still Work? (2006), Return to Greatness (2005), The Transformation of American Religion: How We actually Practice our Faith (2003), Moral Freedom (2001) and One Nation After All (1999). Widely considered one of the nation's most prominent public intellectuals, he is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Republic and The Atlantic, and has delivered lectures across the United States and Europe. (more...)

Curriculum Vitae
Courses at Boston College
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Erik Owens

Erik Owens

Assistant Director

Erik Owens is Assistant Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Theology at Boston College. His research explores a variety of intersections between religion and public life, with particular attention to the challenge of fostering the common good of a religiously diverse society. His scholarship is fundamentally interdisciplinary, bridging the fields of theological ethics, political philosophy, law, education, international studies and public policy. Currently at work on a book about civic education and religious freedom in American public schools, he is also the co-editor of three books: Gambling: Mapping the American Moral Landscape (2009), Religion and the Death Penalty: A Call for Reckoning (2004) and The Sacred and the Sovereign: Religion and International Politics (2003). He earned his Ph.D. in religious ethics at the University of Chicago, an M.T.S. from Harvard Divinity School, and a B.A. from Duke University. Before joining the Boisi Center, Owens received research fellowships from the Spencer Foundation and the University of Virginia’s Center on Religion and Democracy; taught at the University of Chicago and DePaul University; and worked for the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, as well as the City of Chicago’s Board of Ethics.

Curriculum Vitae
Courses at Boston College

Susan Richard

Administrative Assistant

Susan Richard serves as the Boisi Center's Administrative Assistant. With her degree from Johnson and Wales University, she has the educational training to plan and organize the many events the Boisi Center sponsors each semester. Susan is also currently training in web site management.

Suzanne Hevelone
Graduate Research Assistant

Suzanne Hevelone is currently completing her Ph.D. in Theology at Boston College. She has a B.A. in Philosophy from Gordon College and an M.St. in Ecclesiastical History from Oxford University. Her dissertation explores the connections between hagiography and sermons, focusing on the work of the 13th-century Dominican Jacobus de Voragine. In particular, she is concerned with the transmission of virtue to lay audiences. Her other scholarly interests include the ongoing definition of orthodoxy and heresy through the early and medieval church and the use of images in theological pedagogy. Her presentations include posters at International Medieval Sermon Studies Society Symposia (in Switzerland in 2008 and Hungary 2006) and a paper in Orvieto, Italy (2005). In addition to her work at the Boisi Center, Suzanne is an adjunct professor at Gordon College, Wenham, MA.

Corinne Madigan
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Cory is a Senior in the Political Science Honors Program with a Minor in Romance Languages and Literatures. She is writing her thesis on the backlash against the gay marriage movement and the implications for the movement since the Goodridge decision in Massachusetts. Cory is an avid reader, passionate sports fan, political enthusiast and someone who is always looking for a good discussion or debate.

Christopher Lemming
Undergraduate Research Assistant

Chris is a Senior majoring in Theology and Hispanic Studies. He is from Houston, TX and enjoys singing in the University Chorale and researching issues of the modern Catholic Church and American politics. He is also a backpacker and enjoys reading.