Anjan Chakravartty has been named to the University of Miami’s – and the nation’s – first endowed academic chair in the study of atheism, humanism and secular ethics.
Chakravartty serves as a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame and director of the university’s John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values. He will begin his new position at UM July 1.
The university announced its intention to create the chair, which was endowed by a $2.2 million donation from retired businessman Louis Appignani, in May 2016. Since then, the search for the perfect candidate has been an extensive and hush-hush process.
The atheism chair was the fifth of 100 endowed chairs President Julio Frenk announced he intended to recruit before the university’s centennial in 2025.