Spotlight On: Hille Haker
Hille Haker, Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Endowed Chair of Moral Theology, awarded honorary doctoral degree from Uppsala University
Hille Haker, PhD, who holds the Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Endowed Chair of Moral Theology in the Department of Theology within the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago, was awarded the honorary title of Doctor theologiae honoris causa from Uppsala University. This honor, granted by the third largest public research university in Sweden founded in 1477, not only recognizes Haker’s academic achievements, but shows appreciation for her professional contributions to international academic networks and projects.
“The distinction that Dr. Haker received from this world-renowned university is not only a reflection of her impressive academic career and her leadership in the field of moral theology and ethics, but a true honor for the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago. “We are proud to support Dr. Haker’s scholarly work and her ongoing efforts to build interdisciplinary and international bridges in order to drive transformative justice on a global scale.”
Haker, who is the first to receive this distinction in three years, traveled to Uppsala University in January of 2023 to accept the honor among her academic peers in the arts and humanities.
“Being awarded the title of Doctor theologiae honoris causa from Uppsala University makes me proud and humble at the same time,” Haker recounted after returning from Sweden. “With it, I have been connected to the academic community of one of the oldest universities in Europe with a celebration that was overwhelming in its ceremonial dignity, not having changed since the year 1600.”
Not only did Haker receive an honorary diploma, but a ceremonial hat and ring that served as a reminder of the tradition Uppsala University has preserved over the past 400 years.
“I cherish the recognition of my scholarly approach: bringing together the traditions of Catholic moral theology and social ethics with philosophical and literary ethics,” Haker said.
Before the ceremony, Haker gave a lecture at Uppsala University touching on her current research in which she develops theological ethics in relation to present-day challenges, particularly those of scientific and political nature, to drive transformative justice. Her work is inherently interdisciplinary, focusing on the foundations of ethics, moral identity, literary and narrative ethics, and applying Christian ethics as critical political ethics, bioethics, and feminist ethics.
Haker’s work has brought her from her alma mater, University of Tübingen, to Harvard University, Frankfurt, and now Chicago. A native of Germany, her expertise has driven her participation in academic, professional, and political organizations across Europe, such as her recent role as president of Societas Ethica, European Society for Research in Ethics, and as long-time editor of Concilium: International Journal for Theology. In Frankfurt, she was affiliated with the Cornelia Goethe Center for Women Studies, the Frankfurt School Institute of Social Research, and the Forum Humanwissenschaften Bad Homburg. As an ethics advisor, she served for the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies to the European Commission, the highest ethics committee of the European Union, and for the German Bishops Conference on bioethical questions.
“The award strengthens my existing ties to Europe,” said Haker, “I hope that I can continue to create opportunities for transatlantic scholarly exchange.”
Learn more about Hille Haker, her academic career, and her current work here.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”
Hille Haker, Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Endowed Chair of Moral Theology, awarded honorary doctoral degree from Uppsala University
Hille Haker, PhD, who holds the Richard A. McCormick, S.J., Endowed Chair of Moral Theology in the Department of Theology within the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago, was awarded the honorary title of Doctor theologiae honoris causa from Uppsala University. This honor, granted by the third largest public research university in Sweden founded in 1477, not only recognizes Haker’s academic achievements, but shows appreciation for her professional contributions to international academic networks and projects.
“The distinction that Dr. Haker received from this world-renowned university is not only a reflection of her impressive academic career and her leadership in the field of moral theology and ethics, but a true honor for the College of Arts and Sciences,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago. “We are proud to support Dr. Haker’s scholarly work and her ongoing efforts to build interdisciplinary and international bridges in order to drive transformative justice on a global scale.”
Haker, who is the first to receive this distinction in three years, traveled to Uppsala University in January of 2023 to accept the honor among her academic peers in the arts and humanities.
“Being awarded the title of Doctor theologiae honoris causa from Uppsala University makes me proud and humble at the same time,” Haker recounted after returning from Sweden. “With it, I have been connected to the academic community of one of the oldest universities in Europe with a celebration that was overwhelming in its ceremonial dignity, not having changed since the year 1600.”
Not only did Haker receive an honorary diploma, but a ceremonial hat and ring that served as a reminder of the tradition Uppsala University has preserved over the past 400 years.
“I cherish the recognition of my scholarly approach: bringing together the traditions of Catholic moral theology and social ethics with philosophical and literary ethics,” Haker said.
Before the ceremony, Haker gave a lecture at Uppsala University touching on her current research in which she develops theological ethics in relation to present-day challenges, particularly those of scientific and political nature, to drive transformative justice. Her work is inherently interdisciplinary, focusing on the foundations of ethics, moral identity, literary and narrative ethics, and applying Christian ethics as critical political ethics, bioethics, and feminist ethics.
Haker’s work has brought her from her alma mater, University of Tübingen, to Harvard University, Frankfurt, and now Chicago. A native of Germany, her expertise has driven her participation in academic, professional, and political organizations across Europe, such as her recent role as president of Societas Ethica, European Society for Research in Ethics, and as long-time editor of Concilium: International Journal for Theology. In Frankfurt, she was affiliated with the Cornelia Goethe Center for Women Studies, the Frankfurt School Institute of Social Research, and the Forum Humanwissenschaften Bad Homburg. As an ethics advisor, she served for the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies to the European Commission, the highest ethics committee of the European Union, and for the German Bishops Conference on bioethical questions.
“The award strengthens my existing ties to Europe,” said Haker, “I hope that I can continue to create opportunities for transatlantic scholarly exchange.”
Learn more about Hille Haker, her academic career, and her current work here.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”