Congratulations to Julia Rodabaugh and Zach Lewis on having there essays chosen for the 2007 department essay contest. Julia's paper "Bodhidharma’s Warrior Monks:The Historical Analysis of a Shaolin Temple Legend" took first place in the Religious Studies category, while Zach's paper "Earthdance: Living Systems in Evolution" took first place in the Philosophy category. Both essay are available for download at the Essay Contest Winners page of the Department website.

The department recently honored Joan Bevan for her many years of distinguished service to the department. Although the University has a distinguished service award, due to a classification hitch, Joan was not eligible for nomination. As such that department took it upon itself to show our gratitude for her many years of service (and with putting up with all these absent minded professors). Congratulations to Joan on her much deserved recognition.