Academic Vice President John S. Tanner has announced that David R. Seely, a professor in the Department of Ancient Scripture, has been selected as the first recipient of the Ancient Studies Professorship at Brigham Young University.
The professorship is open to all faculty members whose research interests feature the study of ancient civilizations with a religious emphasis.
Seely was selected based on his scholarship in the area of Hebrew Old Testament studies, his membership on the international editorial board of the Dead Sea Scrolls project and his current work with a noted Jewish scholar on a commentary of Deuteronomy for publication by the Anchor Bible Series.
"Dr. Seely has distinguished himself as both an outstanding scholar and a talented teacher of ancient scripture," said Terry Ball, dean of Religious Education at BYU. "His appointment as the Ancient Studies Professor will allow him to further use his considerable talents and training to educate our students and advance the discipline of ancient studies."
Seely received a bachelor's degree from BYU in Greek in 1981 and a master's degree from BYU in classics in 1982. He received both a master's degree and a doctorate in ancient and Biblical studies from the University of Michigan in 1985 and 1990, respectively.
Writer: Cecelia Fielding
