Lawrence S. Cunningham, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, is an award-winning teacher at Notre Dame. He was awarded the Fenlon Award from Sorin College (1989) and a Kaneb award in 1999. His interests are in the area of systematic theology and culture, Christian spirituality, and the history of Christian spirituality. His most recent book is "Thomas Merton and the Monastic Vision" (1999). He has edited or written 16 other books. He is also co-editor of the academic monograph series "Studies in Theology and Spirituality" and serves as an associate editor for a number of scholarly journals. The author of over 50 articles in peer reviewed or solicited journals and books, he has also written over two hundred articles for pastoral and popular outlets. He has won three Catholic Press Association awards for religious writing (1987, 1999, and 2000). He has also served as columnist for "Commonwealth" for over ten years. A frequent visiting professor both here and abroad, Cunningham is currently at work on a new book on the theological meaning of saints. He is also finishing a study of Saint Francis of Assisi and is compiling an anthology of Cardinal Newman's spiritual writings.

A native of England, John J. Reich was trained as a classical archaeologist and did both his undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Manchester. He is an authority on Minoan civilization, pre-Roman Italy, and music. Professor Reich is associated with the Syracuse University study program in Florence, Italy. Reich lectures frequently in Europe and the United States on history, art, and the humanities and is the author of many scholarly articles and several books, including ITALY BEFORE ROME (1979).