Fitting Two Professors Into Three Chairs

Nov 8, 2018

While “What is Villanova?” might first come to mind as the question to the Jeopardy answer "Catholic universities in Pennsylvania," Xavier can thank the two other Jesuit, Keystone-State institutions—Saint Joseph's and Scranton—for our newest faculty and department chair additions.

Though one is technically “newer” than the other.

“I am the new, old chair,” says Bill Madges. Or—with Madges assuming the responsibilities of the Department of Theology chair and an endowed chair (impressively titled “The John J. and Robert E. Beckman Chair for Jesuit Catholic Theology” )—you might say two chairs are better than one.

In addition, Jamie Trnka, newly appointed chair of the Department of Classics and Modern Languages, is discovering Cincinnati and Xavier for the first time. As a professor of German, she had the good fortune to arrive in town to witness the world’s largest chicken dance.

“I was invited to attend Octoberfest with representatives of the European-American Chamber of Commerce, which offers many opportunities to connect Xavier students with international businesses,” she says.

For Madges, it certainly is a homecoming. He’s a Xavier graduate from the Honors Bachelor of Arts program, who then earned a doctorate at the University of Chicago. He began his professional career at Xavier in 1983 and became the first layperson chair of the theology department in 1991. He’s returning after a 12-year stint at Saint Joseph's as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.

Trnka earned her BA in German Language and Literature and Comparative Literature from Oberlin College and both her MA and PhD in Comparative Literature from Cornell University. Prior to joining the Xavier community, she worked from 2006-2018 at The University of Scranton, where she directed the Major in German Cultural Studies, served in leadership positions as a member of the faculties of Women’s and Gender Studies and Latin American Studies, and co-developed an interdisciplinary program in Cinema Studies.

Both join Xavier at a time of new challenges and opportunities. 

“The challenge is keeping Xavier’s Jesuit mission relevant to contemporary times,” says Madges. “Jesuit values, in particular, resonate very strongly with me, and I would like to be successful in leading the department to an even more robust fulfillment of our mission both to the University and to the wider public.”

Trnka looks forward to bringing new perspectives to the department and collaborating with other programs, like developing more community-engaged service and international immersion programs. She’s looking forward to teaching a course in Literature and the Moral Imagination focusing on forced migration and refuge.

“Immigration is an issue that has a lot of impact on culture and political discussions,” she says.