The Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University has announced the appointment of Dr. Iulian Mihai Damian as a Fulbright scholar in residence and research fellow of the Franciscan Institute for the fall semester.

Damian, a native of Romania, is senior lecturer and assistant professor in the Classics Department, Faculty of Letters, at Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. He teaches classical Latin at all levels, medieval and Renaissance Latin literature, as well as ancient and medieval history.

He earned a Ph.D. in history in 2008 at the Babeş-Bolyai University with a thesis on John of Capistrano and the Later Crusade. The thesis was awarded summa cum laude.

Damian was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for the research project “John of Capistrano and The Borders of Fifteenth-Century Christianity.”

In applying for the research position at St. Bonaventure, Damian noted, “St. Bonaventure University, New York, is the ideal place to develop such a project as it combines unique opportunities needed for historical research with a highly specialized work environment, such as the Franciscan Institute. The institute publishes the most important American academic journal in this disciplinary field, Franciscan Studies. Also, it holds a specialized library and, in particular, the so-called ‘Capistran collection.’”

In announcing the awarding of this prestigious fellowship and Fulbright scholarship, Fr. David B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., executive director of the Franciscan Institute, thanked Damian for choosing St. Bonaventure University.

“It is an honor to have you at this university to complete your research project on this famous and sometimes controversial Franciscan friar, theologian and preacher. We have been searching for a scholar to work on our distinct Capistran collection and we believe that your exceptional skills and expertise make you the perfect person to bring John of Capistrano scholarship to the next level.”

Damian’s fellowship runs through Dec. 18.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. St. Bonaventure was named the #5 regional university value in the North in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 college rankings edition.

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