Historian Patrick Q. Mason has been named the new Leonard J. Arrington Endowed Chair of Mormon History and Culture at Utah State University. The Arrington Chair, the first such Mormon Studies professorial chair in the world, is housed in the Religious Studies program within the History Department.
His Inaugural Lecture is Wednesday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. in the USU Performance Hall. Parking in the lot across the street to the east of Fine Arts Center. Golf cart shuttling will be available. Free and open to the public.
Mason brings to the position a reputation as a thoughtful and approachable scholar. He has published a number of books and articles on Mormon culture and American religious history, as well as religion’s role in conflict and peace building. Among his most recent books is What Is Mormonism? A Student’s Introduction (New York: Routledge, 2017). He’s now in the process of completing two books: The Battles of Zion: Mormonism and Violence and its bookend, Weapons of Peace: A Mormon Theology of Nonviolence.
Mason is a past president of the Mormon History Association and for six years has served on the board of this national organization Arrington himself founded in 1965.
