The University of New Mexico has announced that Kathleen A. Holscher will be the inaugural holder of the Endowed Chair of Roman Catholic Studies in the religious studies program at the university. The chair is funded in part through a donation from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe. Professor Holscher will also hold an appointment in the American studies program.
Dr. Holscher comes to New Mexico from Villanova University in Pennsylvania where she was an assistant professor of theology and religious studies. She is completing work on a book entitled, Religious Lessons: Catholic Sisters, Public Education, and the Law in Mid-Century New Mexico. Another work in progress is a book on Catholicism and the labor movement among miners in the American West.
Dr. Holscher is a graduate of Swarthmore College. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University.