During Alumnae/i Days 2016, the Rev. Dr. Jonathan D. W. Lawrence ’97 was named Distinguished Alumnus in Academia. He currently serves as associate professor of religious studies and theology at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y. His additional teaching experience includes Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, N.Y., and University of Notre Dame.
Jonathan’s teaching and research interests include Hebrew Bible, biblical Hebrew, biblical Greek, archaeology of the Bible, New Testament, early church, early Judaism, Holocaust studies, Jewish-Christian dialogue, and liturgical studies.
He has written and presented papers on a variety of subjects: use of technology in grading and assessment, ritual baths, and standardized testing in religious studies.
Jonathan’s professional affiliations include Ministers’ Council, American Baptist Churches, USA, American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), Catholic Biblical Association (CBA), National Associate of Baptist Professors of Religion (NABPF), and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).
Ordained in the American Baptist Churches, USA, Jonathan now serves a small United Church of Christ congregation in New York. He has traveled extensively in Israel, Jordan, and India and spent a month teaching at Pacific Theological College in Fiji. He is active in interfaith work in Buffalo, N.Y., and serves as a camp director and board member for Dunkirk Conference Center, a UCC-affiliated camp.
He is a graduate of Haverford College (BA), Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (MDiv), and Notre Dame University (PhD) and attended Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a Raoul Wallenberg Scholar.
Jonathan and his wife, Jessica Weintraub Lawrence ’97, live in Kenmore, N.Y., with their daughters Gillian and Audrey and their two dogs.