About the Charles H. Miller Sr., M.D., Chair in Human Dignity
The Charles H. Miller Sr., M.D., Chair in Human Dignity is named in honor of the physician and surgeon, who was known in his community of Parsons, Kansas, for his strong Catholic faith and extensive public and community service.
In 1945, Miller co-founded the Parsons Clinic and was chairman of the Southeast Kansas Comprehensive Health Planning Council until 1973. He was president of the Parsons Chamber of Commerce in 1962, a member of the Parsons Urban Renewal Agency and a director of the State Bank of Parsons. Miller was the first president of the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Council and holder of the fourth degree in the Knights of Columbus in Parsons.
The responsibilities of the Chair in Human Dignity include promoting the interdisciplinary richness of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, particularly regarding universal human dignity and its application to medical ethics.
Additional responsibilities are to effectively communicate the insights of research to parish groups of various educational backgrounds, as well as establish a permanent program of lectures, seminars or workshops examining issues of human dignity affecting the Catholic Church, with an emphasis on issues of medical ethics.
About the Chair
Sister LaReine-Marie Mosely, S.N.D., Ph.D., joined St. Mary’s University in 2022 as an Associate Professor of Catholic Systematic Theology and as the Miller Chair in Human Dignity. Her research interests include womanist theology, issues of race, Black Catholic history, and the theology of Edward Schillebeeckx.
Her articles have been published in Horizons, Concilium, American Catholic Studies, The Journal of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium, and New Theology Review. She has likewise contributed multiple book chapters on topics such as theological anthropology and intercultural communities for mission with a focus on race and gender.
Mosely is a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame of the United States. Their U.S. center is in Chardon, Ohio.