The Jesuits in Britain congratulate Professor Celia Deane-Drummond, Director of the Laudato Si' Research Institute (LSRI) at Campion Hall, Oxford, on being awarded the title of Professor of Contemporary Catholic Theology by the University of Oxford.

The title comes through Oxford's 2026 Recognition of Distinction exercise, an annual process that promotes academics to full professor in recognition of sustained, significant contributions to the university, both in research and in teaching. It took effect immediately once agreed by the Humanities Divisional Recognition of Distinction Committee and the university's Senior Appointments Panel.

Campion Hall and the LSRI are both Jesuit institutions in Oxford, making this a proud moment for the wider Jesuit community as well as for Professor Deane-Drummond herself.

The honour recognises a career that has helped shape contemporary Catholic theology, particularly through pioneering work bringing together theology, ecology, ethics and the biological sciences.

Since joining Campion Hall as Senior Research Fellow in 2018, and becoming founding Director of LSRI the following year, Professor Deane-Drummond has built the Institute into an internationally respected centre for interdisciplinary research. She is widely regarded as one of the world's leading Catholic theologians working at the intersection of theology and the natural sciences, and her recent trilogy, The Evolution of Wisdom (Oxford University Press), reflects many years of that work.

Revd Dr Nicholas Austin SJ, Master of Campion Hall, said:

“I am absolutely delighted that Professor CeliaDeane-Drummond's exceptional achievements have been recognised by theUniversity in this way. Celia's scholarship has shown how theology canilluminate some of the defining ethical and ecological challenges of our time.

“Through her outstanding leadership of the Laudato Si'Research Institute, she has built a flourishing transdisciplinary community ofscholars whose work embodies Campion Hall's Jesuit mission of intellectualexcellence in the service of the common good.

“Her vision and leadership have greatly enhanced the Hall'sinternational standing in theology and integral ecology, while inspiringcolleagues and students alike through her generosity and commitment to ourcommon home.”

Based at Campion Hall, the LSRI seeks to provide intellectual foundations for a reordering of society toward care for the earth and care for the poor, inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si': On Care for Our Common Home.

To find out more about Campion Hall and the Laudato Si'Research Institute, visit www.campion.ox.ac.uk and lsri.campion.ox.ac.uk.