Associate Professor & Mary Ann Spearin Chair in Catholic Theology

Associate Professor & Mary Ann Spearin Chair in Catholic Theology

Job No: 503904
Work Type: Faculty Full Time
Location: Dayton, OH
Category: Faculty
Department: Religious Studies - 208490
Advertised: September 22, 2026
Applications close: November 01, 2026

Position Summary:

The Opportunity

The Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Dayton seeks applications for the Mary Ann Spearin Chair in Catholic Theology. This endowed chair, established by Mary Ann Spearin to support graduate theological education at the University of Dayton, is open at the rank of associate professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. This is a nine month, tenured faculty position with an appointment to the Spearin Chair that is made for a renewable four-year term, beginning August 16, 2027.

We seek a strong and creative scholar who can steward our programs’ successes going forward. Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate experience in administration, teaching, and scholarship, with attention to the specific and unique foci of our graduate programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Teaching theology courses in the MA and PhD programs, including regular teaching of one of the required PhD seminars; teach undergraduate courses at the discretion of, and in conversation with, the department chairperson. The typical teaching load per year for this position is 2-1.
• Contributing scholarship that advances their particular field of study and that connects broadly to the doctoral program’s emphasis in US Catholic experience.
• Directing the graduate programs in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. Overseeing these programs in collaboration with the department’s graduate committee and other faculty charged with supporting the graduate programs.
• Advising MA students and first-year PhD students and contributing to graduate student formation (e.g. colloquies, professionalization seminars).
• Guiding appropriate curricular development, recruitment, marketing, and seeking grants when appropriate, for the graduate programs.
• Supporting assessment and accreditation processes, in collaboration with the department’s graduate committee.

The Spearin Chair receives support for their work from a staff coordinator of graduate studies, an administrative assistant shared with four other endowed chairs in the areas related to Catholic traditions, and a graduate assistant assigned to work with them on projects of their choosing. The Spearin Chair oversees a budget that not only supports graduate theological education, but also provides travel support for the Spearin Chair.

When the Spearin Chair seeks promotion to full professor, their administrative accomplishments may constitute a major element of their portfolio, alongside their teaching, research, and service.

The Program

The graduate theological programs include an MA with options to focus in pastoral ministry or theological studies, as well as a PhD in Theology with an emphasis in US Catholic experience. The University of Dayton has offered master’s degrees in theology and related fields since the 1960s and continues to do so, in service of both the church and the academy and in collaboration with other departments and divisions of the University, including the International Marian Research Institute, Campus Ministry, and the Center for Catholic Education.

The doctoral program features a multidisciplinary approach to theology as located in diverse communities with attention to historical and cultural contexts. The doctoral program recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Successful alumni from both the MA and PhD programs - Catholic and Protestant - serve as teachers and leaders in higher education, pastoral ministry, and beyond, including as endowed…