2025 Spring Roundup DSR Newsletter - Contents

Message from the Chair and Graduate Chair, Professor Pamela Klassen, FRSC

The Department for the Study of Religion is turning 50 in 2025–26, and we welcome you to join the celebrations! We are marking this milestone with a host of lectures, parties, concerts and panels that will reunite alumni and invite new friends to join in the celebration. Please look out for invitations coming to your inbox soon — we would be delighted to have you join us for one of these exciting events. 

It will be a busy year in the DSR, with our long-awaited renovation beginning this summer. Our seminar spaces will be upgraded and refurbished, making them quieter and more comfortable. We are also creating an undergraduate-friendly lounge that will provide a space for students to relax and learn from one another outside the classroom. 

We’ve had another busy semester of research, publishing, teaching and events. In addition to marking the publication of several new books from faculty, we also launched the inaugural DSR Lecture Series (see student interviews with each of the guest speakers). The 2025-26 DSR Lecture Series will include lectures from nine department alumni. 

Our alumni continue to flourish, with news of appointments and publications — including a book from alum Rachel Browne, Let Us Play: Winning the Battle for Gender Diverse Athletes, which explores the inclusion of trans athletes in sports. Rachel was also on the special alumni panel we convened for undergraduates, “So you're getting a degree in religion — what’s next?”, with Shari Golberg, Natalie Michalagas and Jonathan Trentadue. The panel was a wonderful learning and networking opportunity for students, who heard real-life examples of the many paths opened by pursuing a degree in the study of religion. If you are an alum who is interested in joining future panels or serving as a mentor to students, please be in touch. 

As the DSR grows in student enrolments, research activities and community events, we remain grateful to our generous donors who provide scholarships for our undergraduate and graduate students and support our public outreach through lectures and events. If you would like to become a donor as we enter our anniversary year, send me an email. I’m always interested to hear alumni stories! 

— Pamela Klassen, FRSC
Professor, Chair & Graduate Chair, Department for the Study of Religion

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