Draft:Joel N. Lohr

Joel N. Lohr
Joel N. Lohr (born 17 October 1974, in Ontario, Canada) is president of Hartford International University for Religion and Peace (HIU), located in Hartford, Connecticut. Lohr was inaugurated HIU's 11th president in 2018. He previously served as the Dean of Religious Life and an Associate Professor at University of the Pacific in Northern California. Lohr is an award-winning author, scholar of religion, and leader in interreligious relations and higher education.

Education
Lohr earned a Certificate in the Trade Program for Carpentry at Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1996, becoming a licensed journeyman carpenter. After working in construction management, he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Religious Studies at Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada in 2002. Following his BA, he studied Theology and Religion in Durham, England, earning his Master of Arts (MA) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of Durham in 2003 and 2007 respectively.

Career
The author or editor of eleven books, Lohr is an award-winning author whose academic work focuses primarily on the Hebrew Bible and Jewish-Christian relations. His books have been published by university presses and popular publishers. In 2011, he received the R. B. Y. Scott Award, given by the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies for “outstanding book in the areas of Hebrew Bible and/or the Ancient Near East,” recognizing Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation. In 2014, he was awarded the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible: Understanding Jewish and Christian Scriptures, co-authored with Joel S. Kaminsky and Mark Reasoner. In addition to awards at University of the Pacific, in 2019 Lohr received the Interfaith Harmony Award given by the Pakistani American Association of Connecticut. Lohr led the rebranding and renaming of Hartford Seminary to Hartford International University for Religion and Peace in 2021. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi.

Personal life
Lohr is married and resides in Hartford, Connecticut. He and his wife Teresa have one daughter. Lohr was born to Dutch immigrants in Canada and was a first-generation college student.

Awards and Recognitions
2019 Interfaith Harmony Award given by the Pakistani American Association of Connecticut.

2017 Champion of Diversity and Inclusion Award at University of the Pacific, awarded to a staff or faculty member “who has gone above and beyond their role to work as proponents of diversity and inclusion.”

2016 Faculty Advisor of the Year Award, awarded for advising the Muslim Student Association at University of the Pacific.

2014 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible: Understanding Jewish and Christian Scriptures, co-authored with Joel S. Kaminsky and Mark Reasoner.

2011 R. B. Y. Scott Award, an award given by the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies for “outstanding book in the areas of Hebrew Bible and/or the Ancient Near East,” recognizing Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation.

Books
Mitka’s Secret: A True Story of Child Slavery and Surviving the Holocaust, with lead author Steven W. Brallier and co-author Lynn G. Beck (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2021).

Found in Translation: Essays on Jewish Biblical Translation in Honor of Leonard J. Greenspoon, co-edited with James W. Barker and Anthony Le Donne (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2018).

Making Sense in Religious Studies: A Student’s Guide to Research and Writing, third edition; co-authored with Margot Northey and Bradford A. Anderson (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2019).

The Hebrew Bible for Beginners: A Jewish and Christian Introduction, co-authored with Joel S. Kaminsky (Nashville: Abingdon, 2015).

I (Still) Believe: Leading Bible Scholars Share Their Stories of Faith and Scholarship, co-edited with John Byron (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2015).

The Book of Exodus: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation, co-edited with Thomas B. Dozeman and Craig A. Evans; Formation and Interpretation of Old Testament Literature/Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 164 (Leiden: Brill, 2014).

The Abingdon Introduction to the Bible: Understanding Jewish and Christian Scriptures, co-authored with Joel S. Kaminsky and Mark Reasoner (Nashville: Abingdon, 2014).

The Book of Genesis: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation, co-edited with Craig A. Evans and David L. Petersen; Formation and Interpretation of Old Testament Literature/Supplements to Vetus Testamentum 152 (Leiden: Brill, 2012).

A Theological Introduction to the Pentateuch: Interpreting the Torah as Christian Scripture, co-edited with Richard S. Briggs (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012).

The Torah: A Beginner’s Guide, co-authored with Joel S. Kaminsky (Oxford: Oneworld, 2011).

Chosen and Unchosen: Conceptions of Election in the Pentateuch and Jewish-Christian Interpretation, Siphrut: Literature and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures 2 (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009).