News

Vale Professor Ray L. Hart

Australian Catholic University mourns the passing of Professor Ray L. Hart, a philosopher, scholar and visionary philanthropist whose generosity will leave a lasting impact.

Professor Hart’s most recent academic appointment before his retirement was at Boston University’s School of Theology, where he served as Chair, Director, and Dean.

Over the course of a 60-year academic career he received countless honours and awards, led the founding of over a dozen religious studies departments across the United States, and served as Executive Director of the American Academy of Religion, as well as Editor of the Journal of the American Academy of Religion for ten years.

Professor Hart left a transformative bequest to establish the Ray L. Hart Centre for Philosophy of Religion at ACU. The Centre will bring together leading researchers, expand opportunities for global impact, and help form the next generation of scholars.

When announcing the major bequest last year, Professor Hart said he wanted to give generations of students the opportunity to “learn and think deeply.”

"It is most important to me that students in future generations be able, as I was, to ask and address fundamental questions of their own existence and experience with the help of key texts from the unfinished histories of philosophy and theology.”

ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Zlatko Skrbis said the university was deeply honoured to steward Professor Hart’s legacy.

“On behalf of the university community, I extend our condolences to Professor Hart’s family and loved ones,” Professor Skrbis said.

“His intellect and scholarship shaped the field of religious studies and the subfield of philosophy of religion in profound and lasting ways.

“Professor Hart challenged and inspired generations of scholars and students, opening new ways of understanding faith, tradition, and the human search for meaning.

“His work explored the depth of religious language, imagination, and the human encounter with transcendence. His career was dedicated to bridging philosophy and theology – a dialogue that is a key feature of our Catholic intellectual heritage.

“Professor Hart’s support of ACU reflects a shared commitment to the pursuit of truth and excellence.”

The inaugural Ray L. Hart Professor of Philosophy of Religion, Professor Garth Green, worked under, and with, Professor Hart at Boston University.

“As a student, I was blessed by a series of exceptionally close relations with some exemplary figures – none more important to me than Ray Hart,” Professor Green said.

“He has left an immense legacy, as a scholar, as an institutional leader, and as an architect of his academic fields. At the same time, he was grateful for ACU’s “shared commitment,” in the words of our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Skrbis.

“His efforts will be perpetuated at ACU, and the Hart Centre will ensure that his scholarly legacy merits the remarkable life of its namesake.

“Ray was always keenly aware of the unfinished character of each generation’s work, the way that it bears fruit, if at all, in the work of the next generation. As one of over 100 doctoral students he supervised across his long career, I’m grateful at this moment of his passing that the Centre will assist ACU’s work both in Ray’s research fields, and in graduate education, for generations to come.”