Jonathan Z. Smith, celebrated historian of religion, 1938-2017

"Prof. Emeritus Jonathan Z. Smith, an influential historian of religion and a celebrated faculty member at the University of Chicago, passed away Dec. 30. He was 79.

A member of the UChicago faculty for 45 years, Smith joined the Divinity School as an assistant professor in 1968. He became a professor in 1975, was named the Robert O. Anderson Distinguished Service Professorship in the Humanities in 1982 and retired in 2013. He also served as master of the Humanities Collegiate Division from 1974 to 1977 and as dean of the College from 1977 to 1982.

Colleagues remembered him as a brilliant teacher, mentor, scholar and colleague who was passionate about the University of Chicago community and his field of study."

Read the full article at UChicago News. Text by Andrew Bauld.

For a more personal reflection on Smith's life, read "Jonathan Z. Smith (193802017): The College's Iconoclastic, Beloved, Chainsmoking Dean," published by The Chicago Maroon.