Seton Hall Welcomes Jonathan Heaps, Ph.D., as Sixth Toth-Lonergan Visiting Professor

The Center for Catholic Studies is pleased to announce that Jonathan Heaps, Ph.D., has been appointed as the sixth Toth-Lonergan Visiting Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies.

The Toth-Lonergan Professorship, established to honor Deacon William Toth and Father Bernard Lonergan, S.J., brings distinguished Catholic scholars to campus who can foster interdisciplinary dialogue between the university’s Catholic mission and the wide range of academic disciplines pursued by its students and faculty. Both Toth and Lonergan emphasized the vital integration of faith and reason, and the professorship continues their legacy by engaging scholars who help the university community advance its mission through conversation, teaching and research.

Over the past two years, the Center has been privileged to host Francesca Zaccaron, Ph.D., in this role. Zaccaron, a scholar of Lonergan and Maritain, brought to Seton Hall her extensive international experience as a teacher, researcher and facilitator of dialogue. During her tenure, she enriched the university’s engagement with Lonergan’s Generalized Empirical Method (GEM) and offered meaningful insights on the formation of the whole human person in education. The Center for Catholic Studies extends heartfelt gratitude to Zaccaron for her service and contributions to the university community.

Heaps now joins this distinguished line of scholars as the sixth Toth-Lonergan Visiting Professor. He currently serves as director of the Lonergan Institute and teaches as an adjunct professor in the University Core. His academic specialization is in Roman Catholic Philosophy and Fundamental Theology, particularly the thought of Bernard Lonergan, S.J., with a focus on freedom, embodiment and culture. His current research explores the intersection of spirituality and scholarly methods, advancing Lonergan’s vision of integrating faith with intellectual inquiry.

Heaps earned his Ph.D. in Theology from Marquette University, an S.T.M. from Boston University, an M.A. from Boston College, and a B.A. from North Park University. His wide-ranging academic background, rooted in both philosophy and theology, uniquely positions him to help students and faculty connect the Catholic intellectual tradition with their own disciplines.

Heaps reflected,

I am deeply honored to join the admirable community of scholars selected for the Toth-Lonergan Endowed Professorship. Father Lonergan's work has been of fundamental importance in my career and Deacon Toth's commitment to the value of interdisciplinary teaching and scholarship is one I have shared for as long as I can remember. I am honored as well to be able to support the Praxis program, a distinctive treasure of the Seton Hall community.

Heaps succeeds a line of prominent scholars who have held this role, including Mark Miller, J. Michael Stebbins, Father Louis Roy, Father Brian Cronin and most recently Zaccaron. As with his predecessors, his teaching and scholarship will help strengthen Seton Hall’s mission of integrating Catholic thought into the academic and professional formation of its students and faculty.

Patrick Manning, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Catholic Studies, remarked,

We at the Center are thrilled that Heaps has been selected as the next Toth-Lonergan Visiting Professor. Heaps has a gift for communicating and applying complicated ideas in creative and timely ways. I expect that Lonergan's thought will take on new meaning for Seton Hall faculty and students through his teaching this spring.

With Jonathan Heaps’ appointment as the sixth Toth-Lonergan Visiting Professor, Seton Hall continues its commitment to fostering dialogue between faith and reason across disciplines. Building on the legacy of his predecessors, Heaps’ scholarship and teaching will not only deepen the university community’s engagement with Lonergan’s thought but also further enrich Seton Hall’s mission to form students and faculty as leaders grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition. He will formally occupy the position of Toth-Lonergan Visiting Professor in the Spring 2026 semester.

Categories: Education, Faith and Service