PROVIDENCE – The first female professor to head the Theology department at Providence College, Aurelie A. Hagstrom has been named the first William J. and Maryann Christie Endowed Chair in Catholic and Dominican Studies.
A member of the PC Class of 1985, Hagstrom, currently an associate professor of theology at the Providence-based Catholic college, began her three-year tenure as chair at the start of the 2018-19 academic year.
In this position, she will collaborate with Rev. James Cuddy, vice president for mission and ministry, to design and develop programming, lectures and activities to increase awareness of the Catholic and Dominican mission within the school community.
Cuddy said the college is thrilled to have Hagstrom on board as the first Christie chair.
“[Her] love for Providence College and its Catholic and Dominican mission and identity [matches] that of Bill and Maryann Christie” said Cuddy in a statement. “I’m excited to work with her in the years to come.”
After her graduation from PC, Hagstrom received a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome in 1991. From there, she joined the faculty at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Ill., where she received tenure.
She rejoined the PC community in 2003 as the second lay woman to teach theology full-time. From 2013-2016, she served as PC’s faculty resident director of the Center for Theology and Religious Studies in Rome as part of their study abroad program.
The Christie chair marks PC’s fourth such endowed position and was made possible by a gift from William J. Christie, Class of 1961, and his wife, Maryann.
Emily Gowdey-Backus is a staff writer for PBN. You can follow her on Twitter @FlashGowdey or contact her via email, gowdey-backus@pbn.com.
