Higher Education and Leadership Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has named Dr. Rafael Luévano, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Chapman University, as recipient of the 2013 T.A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence.
HELM President Dennis Landon will present the award on March 15, 2014 on the Chapman University campus in Orange, California.
A member of the Chapman faculty since 2000, Dr. Luévano also serves as Roman Catholic Chaplain to the Chapman campus. Previously he was Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Officer for the Diocese of Orange and Rector of Saint John’s Seminary College. His most recent book is Woman-Killing in Juárez:Theodicy on the Border (Orbis Books). Dr. Luévano’s colleagues and students affirm him as a teacher, scholar, and chaplain who inspires young people to pursue excellence in their lives in a context of faith and love for humanity.
The T.A. Abbott Award, presented now for the 30th consecutive year, was established through a gift to HELM from the descendants of the Reverend T. A. Abbott, an administrator and faculty member at Culver-Stockton College who died in 1914. Nominees must be full-time teaching faculty at Disciples-related institutions of higher education and be nominated by the institution’s chief academic officer. Criteria for selection include quality of teaching, personal example and commitment to the integration of Christian faith and learning.
Luévano is the second Chapman faculty member to receive the award; Dr. Ronald Farmer received it in 2008.
Luévano will receive an engraved plaque and a cash gift of $1,000, the latter to be used for expanding his personal library, developing new courses or continuing his education or research.
Previous T. A. Abbott Award recipients are:
2012 – Rodney Werline, Barton College
2011 – Clifton Potter, Jr., Lynchburg College
2010 – Linda Davis, William Woods University
2009 – John Hull, Bethany College
2008 – Ronald L. Farmer, Chapman University
2007 – Jan Wanack, Eureka College
2006 – James J. H. Price, Lynchburg College
2005 – Elza C. Tiner, Lynchburg College
2004 – Edward Easterling, William Woods University
2003 – Kathy Whitson, Eureka College
2002 – C. David Grant, Texas Christian University
2001 – Sue R. Abegglen, Culver-Stockton College
2000 – Michael W. Santos, Lynchburg College
1999 – Edward H. Sawyer, Culver-Stockton College
1998 – Anantha S. Babbili, Texas Christian University
1997 – Paul H. Jones, Transylvania University
1996 – Phillip H. Stump, Lynchburg College
1995 – G. Philip Points, Transylvania University
1994 – Mildred Onelle Hogstel, Texas Christian University
1993 – Bob J. Frye, Texas Christian University
1992 – John A. Sperry, Jr., Culver-Stockton College
1991 – Larry E. Grimes, Bethany College
1990 – Samuel Thomas Niccolls, Hiram College
1989 – G. Kenneth West, Lynchburg College
1988 – Lorene Holmes, Jarvis Christian College
1987 – Kenneth T. Lawrence, Texas Christian University
1986 – John R. Scudder, Jr., Lynchburg College
1985 – Damaris Peters, Hiram College
1984 – Richard B. Kenney, Bethany College