The McFee Endowed Professorship

I want to extend my hearty congratulations to my Illinois Wesleyan University colleague and former chair, Professor Brian Hatcher. He has just been named the Daisy McFee Professor of Religion at Illinois Wesleyan.

Professor Hatcher studies post-colonial Hinduism and has been an anchor in the Religion Department since his appointment fifteen years ago. He has written three books and more than a dozen articles and book chapters. He is the past recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Cultural Association of Bengal. He has received several major grants and fellowships, including the the ASIA Network/Freeman Foundation Student-Faculty Fellowship and the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship through the U.S. Department of Education, which allowed him to conduct research in Kolkata, India, and the United Kingdom while on sabbatical leave during the 2006-07 academic year.

I learned a lot about teaching and research from Professor Hatcher who helped to mentor me in my early years as a professor. He was always very supportive of my research and encouraged my growth. I appreciate his mentorship and friendship, and am so happy to see IWU recognizing his valuable contributions to his field and to IWU by naming him to this endowed professorship.