The Graduate School has awarded Joseph Wawrykow with the James A. Burn, C.S.C. Faculty Award. The Burns Award recognizes a faculty member who is an outstanding faculty mentor and who exemplifies the value of positive mentor/mentee relationships.The award winners will be formally recognized for their achievements at the Graduate Commencement Ceremony to be held at Notre Dame over Memorial Day weekend in May 2021.
Joseph Wawrykow is professor of History of Christianity with research interests in Medieval Christology. Professor Wawrykow specializes in 13th-century Western theology and is known for his work on the theology of Thomas Aquinas. He has dedicated almost a decade of service as Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) for the Department of Theology, leading a collective cohort of 100 students. For a decade, he taught in the summer a course in professionalization for the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning. In the Department of Theology, he was instrumental in developing and implementing a teacher training program that includes workshops, teaching mentors, and an ongoing symposium in which Theology graduate students take the lead in teaching. Professor Wawrykow is recognized with the Burns Award for his indelible mark on generations of graduate students in the Department of Theology.