Professor of the year 2008 at the Faculty of Arts
Every year since 1995, the Faculty of Arts has recognized a professor who excels in the areas of teaching, research and service to the University community. This year the award goes to professor Peter Beyer of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies.
Professor Peter Beyer completed his PhD in 1981 and then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UQAM. Following this, he began his teaching career at the University of Toronto. He came to the University of Ottawa in 1995 and was granted tenure in 1997. His contributions to the University since 1995 have been impressive in teaching, research and service, the three areas recognized by this award.
Peter Beyer was chair of the Department of Classics and Religious Studies for eight years, from 1996 to 2004. He has been involved in many important committees at the university level. His most recent involvements include the International Development and Globalization Program and the Research Ethics Board (as chair). He has made major contributions to his field through roles he has occupied outside the University, such as president of the Canadian Society for the Study of Religion and vice-president of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion. He is held in very high esteem by his peers, as shown by these appointments and through his regular contributions as a manuscript reviewer for major publishing houses (Rutgers, Sage, Routledge, McGill-Queens Press, etc.).
As supervisor of a great number of students and as a thesis and dissertation examiner, Professor Beyer has also made significant contributions to the graduate program in religious studies. He also provides training to students through research supervision, supported by funding from three successive standard research grants he has received since 2001 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). His investigations into the globalization of religious practices and the social implications of migrating religions are of great interest to university students at all levels of study.
Beyer is the author of two books (Routledge 2006 and Sage 1994), the second of which was translated into Polish in 2005. He has edited three collections of essays (Brill 2007, Ergon 2001 and Edwin Mellen 1984) and is in the process of co-editing two additional volumes (Routledge 2008 and Brill 2009).
Peter Beyer has a PhD in sociology. His research explores the sociological understanding of religion and ponders the relations between religion, immigration and globalization as well religion in a multicultural and diverse Canada. It is a pleasure to see his work on religion and globalization translated into Polish.
