Adela and John Collins Awarded Honorary Doctorates at University of Zurich

The University of Zurich has awarded honorary doctor of theology degrees to Adela Yarbro Collins, Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, and John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation.

The two longtime YDS professors, who are married to one another, traveled to Zurich in late April to receive their degrees of Doctor theologiae honoris causa.

The theology faculty at Zurich recognized Adela Collins for her “methodologically innovative works on early Christian apocalypticism and the Apocalypse of John, as well as her path-breaking works on the Gospel of Mark and early Christology.” The degree citation also praises her work for combining “rigorous philology and religio-historical work with the insightful application of newer methods such as social history, social psychology, and ancient rhetoric.”

John Collins was recognized for his “path-breaking research on Jewish apocalypticism and his life-long striving to make the insights from the Dead Sea Scrolls fruitful for the whole field of biblical studies.” The citation further hails his “tireless engagement with international networks. … His selfless and constant encouragement of the rising generation of scholars throughout the world make him a beacon of international biblical scholarship.”

Both Adela and John Collins gave lectures while in Zurich to receive their honors—Adela speaking on “Prophecy in Early Christianity” and John addressing “Apocalypticism and the Transformation of Prophecy in the Second Temple Period.”

Adela Collins joined the YDS faculty in in 2000 after teaching at the University of Chicago Divinity School for nine years. Prior to that, she was a professor in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Her first teaching position was at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. She is retiring at the conclusion of the current academic year.

A native of Ireland, John Collins was a professor of Hebrew Bible at the University of Chicago from 1991 until his arrival at YDS in 2000. He previously taught at the University of Notre Dame.