HIU Mourns the Passing of Dr. Jane I. Smith, Former Co-Director of the Macdonald Center

As Co-Director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations from 1996-2008, Dr. Jane I. Smith made an enormous impact on HIU, then Hartford Seminary. The community mourns her passing at the age of 89.

Dr. Smith, an alumna, was a Professor of Islamic Studies as well as co-editor of The Muslim World journal while at Hartford Seminary. She left in 2008 with the title Emerita Professor and later took a job at Harvard Divinity School, where she had earned her Ph.D. As an undergraduate, she earned a degree in social science at Michigan State University, and then earned her Bachelor's of Divinity at Hartford Seminary. 

Dr. David D. Grafton, Co-Director of the Macdonald Center, said Dr. Smith left an incredible legacy as a Christian scholar of Islam and an early public leader in Christian-Muslim relations.

"She embodied the best of interreligious curiosity, sensitivity, and friendship," Dr. Grafton said. "I have spoken with many former students who recall with fondness being in her home and sharing meals with her. As a scholar, Jane’s research on American Muslims came at a time when anti-Muslim bigotry was gaining ground. Her public work with the Macdonald Center set the tenor for just and compassionate human relationships at an important point in American society. We owe her a great debt.”

In her research, Dr. Smith focused on interfaith theology and dialogue, Islamic movements in America, and the history of religions. 

She wrote a number of books, including Islam in America (1999, revised 2009); Educating the Muslims of America (co-edited with Farid Senzai and Yvonne Haddad, 2009); Muslims, Christians and the Challenge of Interfaith Dialogue (2007); Muslim Women in America (co-authored with Yvonne Haddad, 2006); Becoming American: Immigration and Religious Life in the United States (co-edited with John Esposito, Yvonne Haddad, Altamira, 2004); and The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, with Yvonne Y. Haddad (1981, revised 2003).

For most of her tenure at Hartford Seminary, Dr. Smith co-directed the Macdonald Center with Ibrahim Abu-Rabi', the first full-time Muslim faculty member at an accredited Christian seminary. Dr. Abu-Rabi' passed away in 2011.

After leaving Hartford Seminary, Dr. Smith served at Harvard Divinity School as Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs and Senior Lecturer in Divinity. Before coming to Hartford Seminary, Dr. Smith had served as Vice President and Dean of Faculty at Iliff School of Theology in Denver.