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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Catholic PRWire

Photo available upon request via e-mail. Oct. 1, 1999 Media Related Inquiries Contact: For Immediate Release Marlon Villa Via fax or e-mail (415) 422-2697 E-mail: villa@usfca.edu University of San Francisco Theology Professor’s Book Wins National Jesuit Alpha Sigma Nu Award SAN FRANCISCO —Imagining the Sacred: Soundings in World Religions (Orbis Books, 1998) by the Rev. Vernon Ruland, S.J., USF professor of theology, was awarded first prize by Alpha Sigma Nu National Book Awards. The awards are sponsored jointly by Alpha Sigma Nu and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Fr. Ruland’s book won in the category of the humanities, sub-category "philosophy and theology," and was selected from 109 entries representing 23 Jesuit universities and two Jesuit graduate schools of theology. The book focuses on what it means to live, wonder, think and pray from within a religious tradition other than one’s own. The book traces selected motifs from each of the major world religions. In the final chapter, modern human rights are treated as a secular spiritual alternative, a humanist touchstone for mending rifts between the other religious traditions. Fr. Ruland’s perspective ranges widely from spiritual classics, like the Bhagavad Gita or Quran, to a contemporary film or short story, or an anecdote from his varied pastoral and teaching experience. The Jesuit professor has taught courses in world religions, the psychology of religion, and humanities in the Honors Program at USF since 1974. His previous book, Sacred Lies and Silences: A Psychology of Religious Disguise (Liturgical Press, 1994) is the winner of a Catholic Press Award. Fr. Ruland, a native of Erie, Pa., received his B.A. in Latin Literature from Xavier University and his M.A. in English from Loyola University Chicago, where he also received licentiates in theology and philosophy. He earned his Ph.D. in religion and literature from the University of Chicago and his M.A. in pastoral counseling from the University of Detroit Mercy. Fr. Ruland’s ASN book award is the third in a row USF has received. The previous winners were the Rev. Thomas Lucas, S.J., chair of the Fine and Performing Arts Program, for his book Landmarking. City, Church and Jesuit Urban Strategy (Loyola Press, 1997) and Visual Complex Analysis (Clarendon Press [Oxford University Press], 1997) by Tristan Needham, professor of mathematics and associate dean for sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and Alpha Sigma Nu (ASN) established the National Jesuit Book Awards in 1979 to recognize outstanding contributions and achievement in the sciences and humanities by faculty and administrators of the 28 U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities. Based on a three-year rotation, $1,000 prizes are awarded each year to authors of books, published in the humanities, in professional studies and in the sciences. Submissions are evaluated on content, style, scholarship, and effectiveness of presentation. -END-

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