Before Gov. Tina Kotek, B.S., ’90 (religious studies), and state Sen. Christine Drazan participated in the first general election gubernatorial debate on the University of Oregon campus on Oct. 1, Kotek first spent time retracing her undergraduate steps. While on campus, she had the opportunity to get an update on her alma mater, the College of Arts and Sciences.
Professor of Arabic and Islamic studies David Hollenberg saw Kotek outside of Prince Lucien Campbell Hall and gave her an impromptu tour to Susan Campbell Hall, where the Department of Religious Studies is now housed.
“On the way, we discussed her mentors, among them Professor Jack Sanders, who was a renowned scholar of early Christianity and ancient Judaism,” Hollenberg recalled.
Sanders taught in the Department of Religious Studies from 1969 until his retirement in 2002. His work focused on the ways in which religious ideas flowed and adapted from one culture to another, and the beginnings of the division between Judaism and Christianity.
“I told Gov. Kotek that Professor Sanders’ memory is alive and well through his wife, Susan, who established The Jack Sanders Award in Religious Studies, which is awarded to an undergraduate student with the top paper in a Religious Studies course each year,” Hollenberg said. “Susan makes the trip from Ashland each year to have lunch with the awardee and with faculty in the department.”
The gubernatorial debate on the UO campus was the first of three scheduled ahead of the November election.