St Edmund’s College and the Von Hügel Institute are pleased to announce that Dr Philip McCosker has been appointed Director of the Institute and Fellow of the College from 1 October 2015. He will continue to be Departmental Lecturer in Modern Theology in the University of Oxford, and Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity in Cambridge.  He was previously Deputy Master of St Benet’s Hall and Lecturer in Theology at Trinity and Jesus Colleges in Oxford. He received his theological formation at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale. His research focuses on historical, philosophical, and constructive theology, frequently in connection with the Catholic traditions.

The Master of St Edmund’s writes: ‘We are very pleased to welcome Philip to the VHI and St Edmunds. He brings theological and philosophical expertise, ecumenical and interdisciplinary vision, and an international scope. We very much look forward to this new phase in the VHI’s existence.’

Philip writes: ‘I am absolutely delighted to have been asked to lead the VHI into the future, building on the firm foundations laid by the current director, Prof John Loughlin, and his predecessors, as well as the Institute’s ever-growing research community. The VHI has huge potential to research, develop, and deploy the many riches of the Catholic imagination to address global issues of the third millennium. I look forward to working for the Institute and College in establishing the VHI as a world-leading intellectual hub rooted in the Catholic traditions of theology, philosophy, and ethics. The VHI will engage all aspects of contemporary reality, seeking out the good, the true, and the beautiful wherever they are to be found, in service of its mission of transformation.’