Diane Christian, Peter Hare named Distinguished Professors

Two faculty members at the University at Buffalo were named Distinguished Professors, the highest rank in the State University of New York system, at the April meeting of the SUNY Board of Trustees.

Diane R. Christian, professor of English, has been named a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor. Peter H. Hare, professor of philosophy, has been named a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor. Both designations are a rank above full professorship.

Christian, an internationally recognized scholar and filmmaker known for her commitment to connecting literary and philosophical works to current social and political concerns, has been a member of the UB faculty since 1970.

Her prizewinning documentary films, for which she has received consistent private, corporate, state and federal funding, are known for their circumspect, yet deliberately activist, ethical orientation. Dealing with subjects ranging from the condemned inmates on Death Row, to ex-nuns, to the poet Robert Creeley, her films have been screened before such diverse groups as inmates in a Texas prison and at the College de France.

Christian has authored or co-authored three books. In addition, she has published numerous articles and presented more than 50 film screenings, film lectures, scholarly talks, seminars and conferences in locations ranging from Helsinki, Finland, to the University of Southern California.

Since 1970, Christian has taught a course on the Bible as literature, which over the past 25 years has become the most popular class in the UB English department.

In addition, Christian is director of UB's Ph.D. Program in Folklore, Mythology and Film Studies; an adjunct professor of comparative literature, and associate director of the Center for Studies in American Culture. She has presented numerous lectures and seminars at prestigious institutions that include the Chautauqua Institution and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, as well as at colleges and schools.

Christian received her bachelor's degree from Nazareth College of Rochester and her master's and doctoral degrees from The Johns Hopkins University. She is a Buffalo resident.

Hare has taught at UB since 1962. In addition, he has served in a number of leadership positions, including 13 years as chair of the Department of Philosophy, from 1971-75, and again from 1985-94.

Hare's service to the field of philosophy has contributed to the development of the work of colleagues around the world and has put the UB Department of Philosophy on the international map. Through his guidance and leadership, the UB philosophy department has become unique among American universities, strong in traditional European branches of study while benefiting from the scholarship of outstanding Latin-American and Asian philosophers as well.

Considered one of the primary movers among those devoted to the study of American philosophy, Hare has received numerous professional honors and awards, including the Herbert W. Schneider Award of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, presented in 1996 "for distinguished contributions to the understanding and development of American philosophy."

Internationally known for his work, Hare has developed an important relationship with the philosophy department at Moscow State University, the most prestigious Russian philosophy program, and in 1989 was a visiting professor there. He received the National Endowment for the Humanities award for the 1990 Conference on the American Philosophy Tradition as Interpreted and Used in Other Countries.

Dedicated to the education and well-being of graduate students, Hare has supervised more than 56 doctoral dissertations.

He is the author or editor of seven books, including his 1968 book, co-authored with Edward Madden, "Evil and the Concept of God." In addition, Hare has published more than 50 articles and served on a number of editorial boards and professional societies.

Hare received his bachelor's degree from Yale University and his master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University. He is a Buffalo resident.