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| M05
Dodd Hall | Florida
State University | Tallahassee, FL 32306 |
Ph: (850) 644-1020 | Fx: (850) 644-7225
© 2005-2006 | Department of Religion | College of Arts and Sciences | Comments |
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Each
spring the graduate students of the department of religion host
an international graduate student symposium. Graduate students
from all over the country and abroad travel to Tallahassee to
participate in the weekend-long conference. At each symposium,
a key-note address is delivered by a distinguished visitor and
faculty members from the department serve as respondents for the
various paper sessions.
Florida
State from 1968 until his retirement in 1996, at which time he
was named Professor Emeritus. While at FSU, John also served as
Director of the Graduate Humanities Program (1969-1976) and Chair
of the Department of Religion (1978-1984.) John was a founding
member of the American Academy of Religion, which he served as
national secretary, vice president, president (in 1967), and executive
director and treasurer (1967-1978.) Professor Priest received
his AB from Asbury College in 1949, his BD (1955) and Ph.D. (1960)
from Drew, and was honored with a variety of fellowships including
the Kent, Fulbright, Dempster, and Lilly Fellowships. Prior to
coming to FSU, John served on the faculty at Ohio Wesleyan, the
Hartford Seminary Foundation, and was Academic Dean at Hartford
from 1966-1968.
The
Tessa J. Bartholomeusz Lecture in Religion has been established
by the faculty of the Department of Religion, Florida State University,
in memory of our late colleague. Tessa Bartholomeusz (1958-2001)
came to Florida State as assistant professor in 1993, following
an appointment at Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis
and the completion of a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia
in 1991. She was promoted to associate professor with tenure in
1997, and to full professor in 2001.
The
Department of Religion is housed in Dodd Hall, with faculty offices
occupying all four floors of the east wing. Dodd
Hall is the most elaborate example of Collegiate Gothic architecture
on the campus. The smaller west wing was built in 1925. The larger
east and south wings were constructed between 1928 and 1929, bringing
the building to its current configuration. Over the main entrance,
rendered
in gold leaf, are the words, "The half of knowledge is to
know where to find knowledge." Home to the library until
1956 when Strozier Library opened, Dodd Hall has since housed
the College of Arts and Sciences, the Philosophy Department and
WFSU-TV. In 1961, the building was renamed in honor of William
George Dodd, a former English professor and Dean of 
the
College of Arts and Sciences from 1910–1944. Dodd Hall was
completely renovated in 1991 and retains both interior and exterior
architectural integrity. Even the construction of the new Dodd
Hall Auditorium completed in 1993 did not detract from the building's
architectural presence. In the lobby of Dodd Hall, note the large
oil painting on the east wall. Commissioned by the Class of 1949
and painted by renowned artist and FSU alumna Artemis Housewright,
The University, Sunrise to Sunset depicts University history and
local flora and fauna.
Department
lectures and symposia are often held in Werkmeister Reading Room,
located
in the original 
west
wing of Dodd Hall. At the west end of the reading room is a memorial
stained glass window designed by Professor Emeritus Ivan Johnson
and created by FSU Alumni Bob and Jo Ann Bischoff. This spectacular
window was unveiled and dedicated on October 31, 1997, as the
first phase of a total restoration planned for the room. The Werkmeister
Window is 22 feet tall and ten feet wide and consists of more
than 10,000 pieces of glass.
