The Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Graz is starting the winter semester with a new leadership team: from 1 October 2024, Katharina Pyschny, a theologian specialising in the Old/First Testament, will head the faculty as the first female dean in its almost 440-year history.
The university professor, who has headed the Institute of Old Testament Studies since 2022, is committed to inter- and transdisciplinary research in the fields of historical-critical exegesis, biblical anthropology and leadership research, the history of ancient Israel/Palestine, interreligious studies, and historical and theological gender research. As deputy president of the European Association of Biblical Studies, she has a strong network both within and outside Europe and is very familiar with international higher education policy.
New Dean's Office
The future Dean will be supported in the research sector by the new Vice-Dean and Dean of Research, Thomas Gremsl, who is Professor of and Head of the Institute for Ethics and Social Theory. His main research interests include Christian social ethics, ethics of digital transformation (with a focus on socio-technical systems and AI), as well as media and sports ethics. Gremsl is the founding chair of the Ethics Commission at TU Graz and, in addition to his work, is also involved in voluntary work at the Styrian Football Association (including as a board member) and at the Red Cross as a local branch manager and emergency paramedic.
All study-related matters will in future be managed by Bernd Hillebrand as Dean of Studies and Martina Bär as Vice Dean of Studies. Hillebrand has been Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Catholic Theology since March 2023 and conducts research into the logic of relationships in interactive processes and how they affect social space orientation, volunteering and development cooperation. He has relevant teaching experience, including from his previous position at the Catholic University of Applied Sciences in Freiburg, where he developed and established a degree programme in social work and theology. As a pastoral theologian, he has particularly strong ties with the Austrian and German-speaking dioceses and Caritas, advising them on their conceptual and strategic orientation.
Bär is a professor of fundamental theology and heads the Institute for Systematic Theology and Liturgy Studies. As an expert on the language of God under late modern conditions, religion(s) and the city, as well as theological anthropology with a focus on gender studies, she is currently the spokesperson for the faculty's successful focus on ‘Theological Women's and Gender Studies,’ which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. She was also recently elected chair of AGENDA, the most important association for Catholic female theologians in the German-speaking world, which has a voice in church politics. This will also result in further synergies for gender equality work in the faculty.
Together, the four new office holders form a diverse team that aims to advance the faculty's profile, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary networking, research strength, science communication, and national and international visibility in the future. Further priorities will be on contemporary and sustainable support for young academics, the attractiveness and academic feasibility of degree programmes, and the development of new career prospects for theology students.
