Mary C. Boys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mary C. Boys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 4, 1947 Seattle, Washington, US |
| Title | Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Fort Wright College of the Holy Names (Spokane, Washington), Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York |
| Alma mater | Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York (EdD) |
| Thesis | (1978) |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Boston College Union Theological Seminary |
| Notable works | Has God Only One Blessing? (2000) |
Mary C. Boys (born November 4, 1947), a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, is an American scholar specializing in religious studies. Currently, Boys is the Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology at Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. At Union, Boys served as the Dean of Academic Affairs for many years. She was formerly Professor of Religious Education at Boston College, where she served for 17 years.
- Fort Wright College of the Holy Names in Spokane, Washington, B.A. in Religion and Humanities, 1969
- Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, M.A. 1975
- Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, Ed.D. 1978
- Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2000
- Catholic Theological Union (Chicago, Illinois), Doctor of Theology, 2006
- The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Doctor of Letters, 2011
- Gratz College, Doctor of Humane Letters, 2012
Biography
Mary Claire Boys was born in Seattle, Washington, to Ruth Wegner Boys and M.C. [Milford Charles] Boys. She grew up in the midst of the pre-Vatican II Catholic church. Living in Seattle she was immersed in conversations with friends across multiple faith traditions. The Second Vatican Council opened up new possibilities for leadership and action within the church, and Boys noted that the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate, published in 1965, provided a crucial catalyst for her formation and imagination.[1]
In August 1965 Boys joined a Roman Catholic women's religious order, the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. In 1969 Boys completed a BA in Religion and Humanities at Fort Wright College of the Holy Names in Spokane, Washington and began her teaching career as an instructor in Religion and in English at the Holy Names Academy in Spokane. She made her final vows to the community in 1972.
Building on her vocation as an educator Boys moved to New York City to undertake the joint M.A. in Religion and Education at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, a degree she completed in 1975. Following that degree she entered their EdD program, and in 1978 she successfully defended her dissertation: "“Heilsgeschichte” as a hermeneutical principle in religious education," which was done under the mentorship of the late biblical scholar Raymond E. Brown and philosopher of education Dwayne Huebner.
From 1977 to 1994 she was on the faculty of Boston College, moving fluidly through the process from instructor to full professor. While there she wrote voluminously, garnering a reputation as the key Catholic scholar in the field of religious education who was engaging issues of Jewish/Christian understanding.
In 1994 she returned to her alma mater, Union Theological Seminary, as the Skinner and McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology, and in July 2013 she was installed as Dean of Academic Affairs at Union.[2][3] She continues to hold both of these positions.
