It is with great sorrow that we report the passing of our friend and former member of the C.S. Lewis College’s Council of Distinguished Fellows, Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain. Announcements were recently published in The Atlantic and The Christian Post that beautifully describe her notable contributions to Christian scholarship, her dedication to teaching, and her passion for Christ.

Jean was a Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics at the University of Chicago, the first woman to hold an endowed professorship at Vanderbilt University, and the Kluge Chair of Modern Culture at the Library of Congress, amongst other notable positions. She is greatly acclaimed for her writings regarding the intersection of politics, gender, and religion, as well as for her many honorary degrees, fellowships, essays, lectures, books, and awards that she achieved in her 72 years..

Jean was a firm supporter of the vision of the Foundation and C.S. Lewis College, writing that, “We are in the throes of culturally sanctioned forgetfulness concerning much of the best in our literary, philosophical, and theological legacy. The C.S. Lewis Foundation is exemplary in fighting this forgetfulness and reminding us that an intelligent present can only be based on interpretation and engagement with those who have gone before us.”

To honor Jean, we’ve made available, for free on our website, her Oxbridge 2005 Summer Institute lecture titled “Who Are We? – C.S. Lewis and the Question of Man.” You may download the mp3 file for free until August 24th. Go to http://www.cslewis.org/product-category/audio-recordings/ and choose the 2005 Summer Institute. You’ll find the recording there.

The C.S. Lewis Foundation asks that you keep her family in prayer during this time of grieving. We note with joy–but not without sorrow–that Jean is now a citizen of the God’s Kingdom.