Faculty Profiles
Fr. George Kilcourse is a scholar in the fields of Thomas Merton studies, ecumenism, and religion and literature. His latest book is Flannery O'Connor's Religious Imagination (Paulist Press, 2001), and previous books are Ace of Freedoms: Thomas Merton's Christ and Double Belonging: Interchurch Families and Christian Unity. He is the former editor of and frequent contributor to The Merton Annual and has written dozens of scholarly articles. He is working on a book on Merton's spirituality. Fr. Kilcourse is an alumni of Bellarmine and has been recognized as a Wyatt Fellow by the University for his excellence in scholarship and teaching.
Dr. J. Milburn Thompson, who is department chair, came to Bellarmine in 2001 from Saint Joseph College in Connecticut where he received the annual award for teaching and a Templeton Foundation Award for a new course in Religion and Science. Dr. Thompson received a First Place Award for Educational Books from the Catholic Press Association for his book Justice and Peace: A Christian Primer (Orbis Books, 1997; revised, 2003). Thompson is also the author of dozens of refereed articles and popular essays in the areas of moral theology and Christian social ethics. In the Winter term 2008 he was a Visiting Scholar at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge, England. Both he and Fr. Kilcourse received their doctorates from Fordham University.
Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty joined the theology faculty in 2004. She is an ordained Presbyterian minister who received her doctorate in theology from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. She came to Bellarmine from St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina where she was chair of the department. Her book Beyond the Social Maze: Exploring Vida Dutton Scudder's Theological Ethics was published in the Spring of 2006 by Trinity International Press. In 2008 her work on a new social creed resulted in the publication of two books by Westminster John Knox Press: Prayers for a New Social Awakening and To Do Justice: A Guide for Engaging Progressive Christians. Elizabeth is co-editor and a contributor to both.
Dr. Gregory K. Hillis joined the theology faculty in 2008. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, Greg received his graduate education in theology (M.A. and Ph.D.) at McMaster University in Ontario. He is an historical theologian who is especially interested in the Patristic period, Eastern Orthodox theology, and in 19th and 20th century Roman Catholic thought. He is the recipient of a number of grants and scholarships, and is currently working on a monograph on Cyril of Alexandria's trinitarian theology.