News : Catholic and Pope Experts
Catholic and Pope Experts
University of Dayton scholars are available for interviews. The world's media turned to them during the transition from Pope Benedict XVI to Pope Francis.
Contact Associate Director of News and Communications Meagan Pant at mediarelations@udayton.edu or 937-212-2979 (cell).
UD's broadband studio for television interviews via Zoom or other platforms is no cost — with 4K UHD camera; upload/download speeds up to 200 mbps; LED lighting; lavalier mic; and IFB connection.
Dennis Doyle, professor, religious studies
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
Doyle is an internationally respected Catholic theologian and frequent media source on Church issues. He wrote The Catholic Church in a Changing World: A Vatican-II Inspired Approach, which seeks to understand the Church, faith and religion in people's lives. Media hits include Catholic Board Seeks Parishioner-Led Abuse Investigation by the Associated Press.
Neomi DeAnda, executive director, International Marian Research Institute
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
DeAnda studies Latino and Latina theology and is developing a border theology in partnership with the Hope Border Institute. She is president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S. She is fluent in Spanish. Media hits include Pope Francis Once Again Encourages Mothers To Breastfeed In The Sistine Chapel by NPR.
Daniel Thompson, associate professor, religious studies
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
Thompson studies Catholic identity and how faith communities navigate change and disagreement with church authority. Media hits include Who's who at the Vatican? via The Conversation.
Vincent Miller, Gudorf Chair in Catholic Theology and Culture
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
Miller is an expert on religion and politics, consumer culture, and social justice. He wrote Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture and edited The Theological and Ecological Vision of Laudato Si': Everything is Connected. Media hits include Final Act of Papal Teaching in America magazine.
Timothy Gabrielli, Gudorf Chair in Catholic intellectual traditions
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
Gabrielli studies how Catholic sacramental practices have evolved in the U.S. His books include Confirmation: How a Sacrament of God’s Grace Became All About Us. Media hits include Francis is the first Jesuit pope – here’s how that has shaped his 10-year papacy in The Conversation.
Sandra Yocum, University professor of faith and culture
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
Yocum is a nationally known writer and lecturer on U.S. Catholic life and thought. She co-edited American Catholic Traditions: Resources for Renewal. Media hits include Women Strive For Larger Roles in Male-Dominated Religions by the Associated Press.
Jana Bennett, associate professor and chair, religious studies
Profile | Media hits | Video | PR contact
Bennett researches moral theology and digital faith communities. She wrote Singleness and the Church: A New Theology of the Single Life and is an editor of the blog Catholic Moral Theology. Media hits include Being Catholic Online — Problems and Possibilities in the Catholic News Service.
Shannen Dee Williams, associate professor, history
Profile | Media hits | PR contact
Williams is the author of Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle. She is a member of the executive council of the American Catholic Historical Association. Media hits include Shedding light on one of the church’s darkest chapters in Catholic News Service.