On May 16, 2010, Dr. Jeanette Rodriguez, Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and STM faculty, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Theology, honoris causa, from Saint Xavier University in Chicago. She also offered the university’s Commencement address. Saint Xavier is a private, Catholic, co-educational institution serving over 5,000 students on two campuses. It was founded in 1846 by the Sisters of Mercy as an academy for girls and women and has been coeducational since 1969.
Dr. Rodriguez received her PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and has been a full-time member of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University since 1995. She was promoted to Professor in 2004. Not only has Dr. Rodriguez served her department as chair from 1997-2003 and from 2005 to the present, she has also served the university as the founding Director of the Center for the Study of Justice in Society and as the Wismer professor for Gender and Diversity from 2001-2003. Dr. Rodriguez’s primary areas of scholarly endeavor include United States Hispanic theology; theologies of liberation (Latin American, feminist, African-American, and Asian-American); religion and culture, cultural memory; indigenous theology; spirituality, justice and peace education; and genocide studies.
Saint Xavier University selected Dr. Rodriguez as their 2010 honorary degree recipient for her “life and ministry as one of the few Roman Catholic, lay, Latina theologians in this country”; for her “numerous publications,” including her most recent book, Cultural Memory: Resistance, Faith and Identity, co-authored with Dr. Ted Fortier of the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Social Work; her “teaching and distinguished service to the academy and the Church, which has significantly contributed to the social understanding of Catholic Latino/Latina concerns and values”; and for her “active participation in numerous professional organizations and committees, including service as a national council member for Pax Christi.”
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Rodriguez on receiving this prestigious honor and in recognizing her achievement as a symbol of the great work of our faculty at Seattle University!