The world’s first endowed Chair in the field of interreligious studies has been established at Temple University. Temple President Ann Weaver Hart recently announced the endowment of the Leonard and Arlene Swidler Chair in Interreligious Dialogue.

Leonard Swidler, Temple Professor of Interreligious Dialogue and Catholic Thought for over forty years, has taught and mentored students, scholars and leaders around the world. In 1964 he co-founded the Journal of Ecumenical Studies with his wife and colleague Arlene, creating an intellectual forum for a new discipline of interreligious engagement. This scholarly work was expanded with accompanying outreach programs through the founding of the Dialogue Institute in 1978.

The pioneering legacy of the Swidlers is now assured at Temple University through the endowment of this Chair, made possible by the generosity of Philadelphia businessman Harry Halloran. Halloran is President of Halloran Philanthropies and a longtime advocate of religious tolerance, socially responsible business enterprise, and global ethics.