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Philip Esler elected FRSE

Thursday 04 March 2010

Professor Philip Esler, who holds the Chair of Biblical Criticism in the University, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, on 1st March 2010.

His research mainly focuses on the social-scientific interpretation of biblical texts, but he also publishes in New Testament theology and in the burgeoning area of the Bible and the Visual Arts. His 2003 monograph, Conflict and Identity in Romans, has been translated into Spanish (2006) and Italian (2008).

Professor Esler arrived in St Andrews in October 1992 as Reader in New Testament and was promoted to his chair in 1995. Since then he has served in various administrative capacities, including as the University's Vice-Principal for Research (1998-2001). He was on leave for four years to serve as the first permanent Chief Executive of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (2005-2009). He strongly supports the growing practice of arts and humanities researchers working in partnership with non-academic organisations to produce benefits across society and the economy.