March 6, 2026<\/p>\n
Meghan J. Clark, Ph.D.<\/a>, Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies<\/a>, St. John\u2019s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences<\/a> at St. John\u2019s University, has earned\u00a0a prestigious research fellowship at\u00a0Durham University\u00a0in England.<\/p>\n Dr. Clark, a faculty member since 2011, is the winner of the Alan Richardson Fellowship<\/a> at Durham and will be in residence there from late April to June 2027. The fellowship reflects Dr. Clark\u2019s standing as a leading moral theologian and expert in Catholic Social Teaching<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply honored,\u201d Dr. Clark said. \u201cMy department has been very supportive and helpful in making all of this work.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0Alan Richardson Fellowship promotes research into contemporary Christian theology and is awarded annually to established scholars from across the globe. Dr. Clark is the second member of St. John\u2019s theology and religious studies faculty to earn the fellowship\u2014former Professor Nicholas Healy was selected for the fellowship before he retired from St. John\u2019s in 2023.<\/p>\n While at Durham, Dr. Clark\u2014author of The Vision of Catholic Social Thought: The Virtue of Solidarity and the Praxis of Human Rights<\/a> \u00a0(Fortress Press, 2014)\u2014will study the concepts of intergenerational justice, human development, and the moral responsibility of humans toward future generations.<\/p>\n Inspired by the late Pope Francis<\/a>\u2019s commitment to ecological stewardship, Dr. Clark will also examine the relationship humans have with the planet, now and for future generations.<\/p>\n \u201cWithin the Catholic culture, we talk about the communion of saints\u00ad\u2014this sense that we are connected to people we have never met,\u201d Dr. Clark said. \u201cSo how do we incorporate that Catholic imagination into something that looks forward? Something that builds on what Pope Francis was talking about when he said we are tenants of the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat requires us to rethink how we understand our relationship to future generations, including generations we will never meet,\u201d Dr. Clark added.<\/p>\n The Department of Theology and Religion at Durham was established in 1832 and is among the leading centers of religious studies worldwide. The fellowship has been awarded for more than 20 years to leading theologians whose research explores relevant issues in contemporary Christian thought.<\/p>\n