Historian to head LDS studies project

Emeritus Columbia University historian Richard Bushman will serve as the first Howard W. Hunter visiting professor in Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University beginning next fall.

The school, located in Claremont, Calif., announced the appointment this week, and the dean of the university's School of Religion said she expects Bushman to play a key role in establishing the new program. "We consider him to be the single most widely known and highly regarded historian of Mormonism," said Karen Torjesen.

"Here, we are committed to studying the full breadth of religious experience. With his broad background in American cultural and religious history, Professor Bushman will make a vitally important contribution to our mission."

The appointment is named after President Howard W. Hunter, the 14th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Bushman is the author of 12 books, receiving such recognitions as the Bancroft Prize in American History and the Phi Alpha Theta Prize. His most recent biography, "Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling," has received wide critical acclaim from Latter-day Saints and secular audiences alike.

In addition to his career at Columbia, Bushman has taught at Boston University, Harvard, Brown, the University of Delaware and Brigham Young University and has been deeply involved with the Joseph Smith Papers Project at BYU.

Bushman will hold the position until the endowed chair is fully funded. Fund raising for the post is ongoing. "These funds will allow the establishment of the first permanent, graduate-level study of Mormonism at a secular university," said Joseph Bentley, chairman of the Mormon Studies Council at Claremont.