February 05, 2008

Holy Cross Visual Arts Professor to Integrate Ethics into Curriculum Through New Professorship

WORCESTER, Mass. – Joanna E. Ziegler, professor and chair of the visual arts department at the College of the Holy Cross, has been named the first Edward A. O’Rorke Professor in the Liberal Arts. The professorship has been made possible by a generous gift from Edward A. O’Rorke, a member of the class of 1929.

“Among students and colleagues alike, Professor Ziegler enjoys an enviable reputation for her ambitious, innovative and intentional approach to teaching,” says Timothy R. Austin,
vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College. “Far beyond just conveying a body of knowledge, she seeks to change the very way her students see as well as the way they then relate what they have seen to understanding who they are and what they value.” 

Once Ziegler assumes the position on July 1, she plans to initiate and facilitate a discussion among faculty on the possibility of integrating more ethics into their teaching.

“I hope to afford opportunities for the exchange of ideas that will make faculty more keenly aware of the need to address emerging ethical issues, especially in light of the College’s special mission, and of the relevance of ethical reflection to a range of disciplines beyond philosophy and religious studies,” she explains. 

Her ultimate goal is to serve students at the College by giving them greater opportunity for ethical reflection within the curriculum.
 
Ziegler, a faculty member at Holy Cross since 1982, received her Ph.D. in art history and architecture and her M.A. and B.A. in art history from Brown University. A specialist in late medieval and early modern religious art and architecture of Low Countries, Ziegler has been invited to lecture throughout the U.S. and Europe. She was the recipient of the College’s Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award in 1994 and recently received the Arthur J. O’Leary Faculty Recognition Award, which is given to senior faculty members who make a special contribution to the College through their teaching, scholarship and/or service. 

She is co-author, with Bruce T. Morrill, S.J., and Susan Rodgers, professor of anthropology at Holy Cross, of Practicing Catholic: Ritual, Body, and Contestation in Catholic Faith (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006) and Practicing Mortality: Art, Philosophy, and Contemplative Seeing, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005) which she also co-authored with Christopher Dustin, associate professor of philosophy.

For additional information contact Cristal Perriello at 508.793.2419