On December 5, 2011 Trinity Western University will celebrate the inauguration of the John William Wevers Institute and Septuagint Chair Campaign. The public is invited to attend the ceremony and reception, starting at 7 p.m. in the Devries Centre.
In April, the University announced that the family of the late Professor John William Wevers, Th.D., pioneer Septuagint scholar at the University of Toronto, had donated $400,000 towards the endowment of the Septuagint Chair.
Since the announcement, words of support poured in from the global academic community. “It is a most generous donation, a fitting memorial, a truly supportive university, and, [on the part of Rob Hiebert, Ph.D., Director of the Institute] a tremendous achievement,” said Tessa Rajak , Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, University of Reading, Senior Research Fellow Somerville College, Oxford, “I am sure that the existence of a dedicated, prestigious and adequately funded institute will secure the continuation of the current worldwide flowering of Septuagint Studies. Long may it last.”
Building on this momentum, the Institute’s next goal is to ignite interest among other benefactors to establish a professorship in Septuagint studies. Hiebert’s Institute colleague, Peter Flint, Ph.D., was awarded the prestigious Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Dead Sea Scrolls Studies in 2004, which the Government of Canada renewed in 2011 for an additional five years. To create another chair in Septuagint Studies would further TWU’s recognition as the preeminent centre of biblical scholarship and research in Canada. The University is currently working to raise the $2.5 Million needed to fully establish this chair.
Hiebert envisions a steady stream of keen and brilliant Septuagint majors in the forthcoming Ph.D. religious studies program at TWU, enthusiastic about becoming involved in the research projects of the Institute fellows (Larry Perkins, Ph.D.; Dirk Büchner, Ph.D.; Flint; and Hiebert himself).
Read more about the John William Wevers Institute in the latest issue of Trinity Western magazine.
Event at a glance
Date: Monday, December 5, 2011
Time: 7 pm ceremony, reception to follow
Place: Devries Centre, Trinity Western University
Contact: septuaginttrinitywestern@gmail.com