Faculty
Dr. Brian Bennett
Professor of Religious Studies
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. Brian Bennett
- Phone:
- (716) 286-8454
Originally from San José, California, Dr. Bennett earned his B.A. summa cum laude from Princeton and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He has taught at NU since 2001. Bennett is a comparativist whose research examines the relationship between different religions, languages, and scripts. In 2021 he received Niagara's inaugural Excellence...
Dr. Judith A. Merkle, SNDdeN
Professor
- Phone:
- (716) 286-8462
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy Hall
Dr. Judith A. Merkle is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur from Cincinnati. She holds a MA degree from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend and a MA and PhD in Theology from the University of St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, Canada. Dr. Merkle teaches in both...
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Rev. Joseph G. Hubbert, C.M., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
- Phone:
- (716) 286-8456
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy Hall
A 1973 graduate of Niagara University (B.A., History), Father Hubbert first served the Department of Religious Studies between 1977 and 1980. Following graduate studies at The Catholic University of America (M.A., Ph.D., Church History) and serving on the faculties of Mary Immaculate Seminary (Northampton, Pa.) and St. Charles Borromeo Seminary...
Dr. Amelia Gallagher
Associate Professor
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. Amelia Gallagher
- Phone:
- (716) 286-7366
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy Hall
Amelia Gallagher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies and the Chair of the Middle East and Islamic Studies minor. She studied at the University of Michigan and the Institute of Islamic Studies of McGill University. She teaches courses on Religious Studies including Islamic Mysticism, Religion and...
Dr. Robert St. Hilaire
Associate Professor
- Contact:
- Send Email to Dr. Robert St. Hilaire
- Phone:
- (716) 286-8589
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy Hall
Dr. St. Hilaire earned his doctorate at Harvard Divinity School in July 2008. His dissertation was on the relationship between nature and grace in the thought the early twentieth-century French Thomist Pierre Rousselot. Dr. St. Hilaire joined the Department of Religious Studies at Niagara University in the fall of 2008. He...
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Dr. Martha Acosta Valle
Associate Professor
- Phone:
- (716) 286-8453
- Office Location:
- Dunleavy 321
Originally from Cuba, Acosta Valle studied journalism and linguistics at Havana University. She later completed a Bachelor of Theology at Laval University in Quebec City. She obtained a master’s degree, a Th.D. and a Ph.D. from St. Paul University (Ottawa) and the University of Ottawa. She also holds a Bachelor...