Kimberly Vrudny joined the Theology Department at the University of St.
Thomas in 2003, after teaching as an adjunct professor in 2001 and as a
visiting professor in 2002-2003. She completed her Ph.D. in 2001 from Luther
Seminary with the dissertation: "Scribes, Corpses, and Friars: Lay Devotion
to the Genetrix, Mediatrix, and Redemptrix Through Mendicant Didactic Use of
the Speculum humanae salvationis in Late Medieval Europe." Dr. Vrudny
currently serves as the faculty coordinator of service learning and is
coordinator of the University's HIV/AIDS initiative through partnership with
Open Arms Minnesota. Her primary responsibility is teaching undergraduate
theology; she also teaches occasionally in the Aquinas Scholars Honors
program, and for the M.A.T. program through the School of Divinity.


Academic History

Ph.D., 2001    Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota
Study Abroad, 1997    Cambridge University (England); Medieval Studies
Summer Institute
M.A., 1995    United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Study Abroad, 1990-1991    University of Haifa, Israel
B.A., 1992    Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota


Expertise

Theological Aesthetics
Theology and the Arts (especially fourteenth-century illustrated copies of
the medieval manuscript <i>Speculum humanae salvationis</i>)


Courses Taught

Theo. 101    Introduction to the Christian Theological Tradition
Theo. 200    Christian Belief: Ancient and Contemporary
Theo. 387    Theology of Beauty
Theo. 387    Theology and Art
IDSC 480    Truth, Goodness, and Beauty: Philosophical and Theological
Perspectives
IDSC 480    Community Action and Social Change


Awards and Grants

2006    Outstanding Faculty Award in Service Learning, University of St.
Thomas
2006    $69,161.25    Wabash Center; for "Best Practices in Teaching
Theology and the Arts in the Undergraduate Classroom: A Two-Year
Consultation"
2006    $20,000        Minnesota Campus Compact; for The Changing Faces of
Minnesota AIDS
2005    $350,0000    The Henry Luce Foundation; for the development of The
Society for the Arts in Religious and Theological Studies
2003    $100,000    The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; for
publication ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies


Selected Publications

BOOKS

Friars, Scribes, and Corpses: A Medieval Confraternal Reading of the Mirror
of Human Salvation (Speculum humanae salvationis). Under review.

Arts, Theology, and the Church: New Intersections, co-edited with Wilson
Yates. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2005. See especially chapter four: "Spirit
Standing Still: Documenting Beauty in Photography."


ARTICLES

"Theological Aesthetics and AIDS: Assessing the Pedagogical Effectiveness of
Community-Based Learning." Under review.

"Critical Generosity: The Significance of Mary's Presentation to the Temple
for Medieval Women Surviving Plague." In The Subjective Eye: Essays in
Culture, Religion, and Gender in Honor of Margaret R. Miles, Richard
Valantasis, Janet Carlson, Deborah Haynes and James Smith, III, eds.,
Princeton Theological Monograph Series. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick
Publications, 2006.



Professional Memberships

SARTS    (secretary) Society for the Arts in Religious and Theological
Studies
AAR    American Academy of Religion
CTS    College Theology Society
ACE    Art and Christianity Enquiry (International; by invitation only)
CIVA    Christians in the Visual Arts