In April 2008, the Latter-day Saint Council in the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University announced that the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies was initially funded.  For all who were involved in the establishment of the chair—the Dean of the School of Religion, the LDS Council, and the students—this was a landmark event.  It meant that a professorship of Mormon Studies will exist in perpetuity at Claremont.  It is the only one outside of Utah and the only one existing at a graduate university level.
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I was asked to fill the chair in its first year, with Claudia Bushman as adjunct professor.  My first course was “The Mormon Theological Tradition” and Claudia’s “Mormonism from a Women’s Perspective.”  This semester I am teaching “The Life and Thought of Joseph Smith,” and Claudia, “Mormon Women in the Twentieth Century.”  Our students are predominantly LDS with a significant sprinkling of non-Mormons.

There is no degree in Mormon Studies at Claremont.  Students add a Mormon dimension to their study of the history of religions, comparative religions, philosophy, theology or Biblical studies.  Rather than turn out Mormon specialists, the program’s aim is to prepare future college teachers —Mormons and non-Mormons alike—to offer a fair and balanced account of Mormonism . 

We have about 25 LDS students enrolled in graduate study in the School of Religion.  One-quarter of the entering class in the School of Religion this fall was Mormon or working in Mormon Studies.  Their organization (the Claremont Mormon Studies Student Association) sponsors conferences, weekly lunches and now a handsome newsletter.  Like LDS students everywhere, they know how to work together and get things done.  Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Claremont Mormon Studies program thus far is the students’ esprit and comradeship, which seems certain to continue throughout their professional careers.

The LDS Council that raised the funds for the Howard W. Hunter Chair came into existence in 2003 at the behest of the school’s first Dean of the School of Religion, Karen J. Torjesen.  Her vision was to include Mormon Studies along with seven other faith traditions—Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Islamic, Zoroastrian, Indic and Coptic--in a program to enhance the academic study of their beliefs.  This vision included funding professorships, adjunct courses, lectures and conferences.  Ours is the only fully endowed chair thus far and our influence is being felt as a result.  The chairman of the Mormon Council, Joseph Bentley, has been tapped to chair the group of eight councils.  Also, one of our major donors has been named to the University’s Board of Trustees. 

The program began in 2003 and 2004 with a series of conferences and lectures. In 2005, Armand Mauss, who generously volunteered his services, began teaching semester-long courses. Meanwhile the LDS Council, headed by Joseph Bentley (a local Church leader) and including about two dozen public-spirited Mormons, began the arduous work of raising funds.  Other religions are accustomed to establishing university professorships, but this was new to Mormons.  Only the undergraduate chair of Mormon Studies at Utah State University is comparable.  Claremont’s is the first Mormon Studies chair at the graduate level.

There were questions about what kind of Mormonism would be taught at Claremont. Would the professor be friendly or critical?  How would academic study advance the cause?  Gradually the fears were allayed, and some generous gifts were received, along with scores of smaller contributions.  Although the chair is officially endowed, the search for funding goes on. The target now is financial aid for the students and ongoing support for our many diverse programs.  Tuition alone at Claremont costs $35,000 a year, and very little financial aid is available from the university.  To be successful, the program must help students to meet their expenses.

Smaller sums are needed to support the program of lectures and conferences that are in some ways the pay back to the community for its support.  Not long before his death, Truman Madsen gave the inaugural lecture on the question “Does Religion Need Philosophy?”  Subsequently, Elder Marlin K. Jensen spoke on the responsibilities of the Church historian.  This fall we have heard from Oxford University Professor Daniel Howe—not a Mormon, but the author of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book, What Hath God Wrought:  The Transformation of America, 1815-1848.  This includes one of the best brief summaries of Mormonism ever written.  Also, Father Alexei Smith of the Los Angeles diocese recently participated in a Mormon-Catholic dialogue on “Priesthood and the Sacraments” with BYU Professor Robert Millet. 

Half a dozen major lectures are offered each year in a large auditorium, generally filled by community people.  Many local Mormons have become regulars, vigorously engaging the speakers with questions after their presentations.  The evening lectures are preceded by afternoon seminars where students and the speakers discuss many topics of common interest. 

Because of the hospitable nature of the Claremont Graduate University, the school has become a frequent site for Mormon Studies conferences.  Last year we sponsored conferences on engineering and Mormon thought and on making space for women.  In addition, the Society for Mormon Philosophy and Theology, Sunstone and Mormon Scholars in the Humanities have chosen Claremont as a conference site.  We hope that Claremont will become a true national center for all who are interested in Mormon Studies.

Everyone within driving distance can become part of the academic give and take, but all who wish to be kept up to date about Claremont events at Claremont can add their email addresses to our list by writing to mormonstudies@gmail.com.  Additional information can be found at the program’s website at www.claremontmormonstudies.org .

Mormon Studies at Claremont has yet to prove itself fully.  Will the LDS community support the financial needs of the students?  Will the scholarship produced here deepen global understanding of Mormonism?  Will graduates be able to find teaching positions?

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