Patricia D. Ahearne-Kroll

Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for Encouragement of Teachers (2010)

2009-2010 Commencement Ceremony Excerpt

I am pleased to announce that the winner of the Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for the Year 2010 is assistant professor of religion, Dr. Patricia Ahearne-Kroll.

Dr. Ahearne-Kroll graduated from The University of Notre Dame with a major in Theology. She received her Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Prior to coming to Ohio Wesleyan in 2006 she taught at Santa Clara University, Yale University, and North Carolina State University.

Professor Ahearne-Kroll’s research focuses on the interrelationships among Egyptian, Greek, and Jewish cultures that shaped cultic practices and religious identities during the post-Alexandrian to the early Roman period of Egypt. Her works are widely published and she is currently working on a book based on a Jewish-Greek text.

At Ohio Wesleyan, Dr. A-K (as she known among students) has taught courses on Old Testament History and Literature, Judaism in Late Antiquity, and Ancient Mediterranean Religions and has developed several new course offerings that have endeared her students not only in religion, but also in Ancient-Medieval-Renaissance Studies and in Women and Gender Studies.

Her students describe her as a brilliant and passionate professor. As one student writes…“her enthusiasm is refreshing and contagious.” And another student states“she teaches course offerings that have endeared her to students not only in religion in not only an enthusiastic fashion but also in an innovative way…give her a raise, she rocks.”

Pat, these are some great tributes! Congratulations!