Department Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Students, faculty, and staff gather to celebrate half a century of research, teaching, and service at a reception co-hosted by Atkins Library.

When Bonnie Cone founded Charlotte College, she made a commitment to teach religion in the curriculum. Harold Corkey was first hired to teach courses in Bible, along with courses in philosophy and psychology.

The Department was formally established in 1972. The founding members were Loy Witherspoon, Ed St. Clair, Dan White, and Ron Gestwicki. Between 1973-75, the department hired Jeff Meyer, Herman Thomas, Richard Underwood, and Donald Capps. Between 1988-90, the department hired Kathryn Johnson, Lorine Getz, and James Tabor.

The department welcomed Richard Cohen, John Reeves, Joanne Maguire, Judi Fagan, Araminta Johnston, and Celia Sinclair in the 1990s. The 2000s brought Ann Burlein, Sean McCloud, Joe Winters, Jeremy Schott, Julia Moore, Tina Katsanos, Kent Brintnall, Janna Shedd, and Barbara Thiede. Since 2010, we have hired Eric Hoenes, Alex Kaloyanides, Will Sherman, Prea Persaud, and Letha Victor.