Advancing the Humanities: Gloria Chien Named Arnold Distinguished Professor

SPOKANE, Wash. — Gloria (I-Ling) Chien, Ph.D., associate professor of religious studies, has been appointed to a three-year term as Gonzaga University’s Alphonse A. and Geraldine F. Arnold Distinguished Professor, effective fall 2025.

The Arnold Professorship, established in 1982 through a transformational trust from the late Alphonse A. and Geraldine F. Arnold, continues to advance Gonzaga’s Jesuit, Catholic, humanistic mission. Their unprecedented gift of gold valued at $2 million—the largest single gift to the University at that time—created the Trinity Trust, which supports three major areas: the Arnold Professorship, the Arnold Humanities Lecture and student scholarships.

The Arnold Distinguished Professor is recognized as an accomplished teacher and scholar whose work enriches liberal arts education. The College of Arts and Sciences Award Committee cited Chien’s contributions to the College’s mission through her publications, scholarly collaborations and innovative courses on Buddhist meditation, Asian religions in film and mindfulness.

“As a scholar of Buddhism, I see the Arnold Professorship as an opportunity to explore intersections between Buddhist studies and the broader humanities,” Chien said.

Chien will organize the 2025 Arnold Lecture, featuring Sharon Suh, Ph.D., professor of Buddhism at Seattle University. Suh’s talk, “Emergent Dharma: Asian American Feminist Buddhists on Practice, Identity, and Resistance,” will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, in the Cataldo Globe Room. The lecture will highlight how Asian American feminist Buddhist women reimagine identity and practice in ways that challenge stereotypes of Buddhism in the United States. The event will be of particular interest to those engaged in religious studies, women and gender studies, race and ethnicity, and American cultural studies.

Looking ahead, Chien has planned the 2026 Arnold Lecture on Buddhist ritual and art, with the 2027 lecture to focus on either Buddhism and film or Buddhist meditation and contemplative science.

Chien earned her doctorate from the University of Virginia, where she studied Tokmé Zangpo’s (1295–1369) biographies and Collected Works in the context of Tibetan Buddhist lojong compassion meditation. Her research led to certification in Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT®), developed at Emory University. Supported by Gonzaga’s Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, her CBCT® teaching project has resulted in peer-reviewed publications on contemplative and Ignatian pedagogies. Her most recent scholarship explores Buddhism and Chinese religions in film, including a forthcoming book chapter, “Chinese Religions and Film,” in The Routledge Companion to Religion and Film, 2nd ed.

Beyond her scholarship, Chien contributes to campus life and the wider Spokane community through mentorship and public engagement. In 2024, she became faculty advisor to Gonzaga’s Asian American Union student club. She has also led workshops for the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute and facilitated mindfulness sessions for the Spokane Public Library and the ZoNE Essential Skills Series.