LELAND J. WHITE, S.T.L, J.D., PH.D.
LJW uncharacteristically to right of S.C.
Gov. Jim Hodges at signing of Religious
Freedom Act June 1, 1999.Professor, St. John's University, Jamaica, NY
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
1982 - 2001Adjunct Professor, College of Charleston, SC
Department of Philosophy
1994 - 2001Obituary THE REVEREND DOCTOR LELAND J.WHITE, 61, priest, lawyer, professor, author, editor, and Democratic Party activist died in his Charleston home, Thursday, September 27, 2001, after an extended illness.
Born in Charleston, July 25, 1940, Dr. White was the son of the late Leland James White and Rose Winifred Budds White.
Dr. White was graduated from the Cathedral Grammar School and Bishop England High School in Charleston, SC. He received the A.B. in philosophy from St. Mary's University in Baltimore, Md., and both the S.T.B. and S.T.L. degrees from the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. He later earned a Ph.D. in Religion and Culture at Duke University, an M.A. in Counseling at the University of Michigan, and a J.D. from the Seton Hall University School of Law.
He was recipient of a year-long fellowship at the Ecumenical Institute for Advanced Theological Studies in Jerusalem, and National Endowment for the Humanities Grants at Yale University and Princeton University.
Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Charleston in Rome, Italy, December 18, 1965, Dr. White served as Associate Pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Columbia, S.C. While in Columbia he was active in the Columbia Ministers Association and chaired a commission on continuing education for the clergy established by the South Carolina Christian Action Council. He helped organize a study-action group, the Fellowship of Clergy and Laity (FOCAL) to deal with issues of race and social justice.
Dr. White taught theology at St. Thomas Seminary, Kenmore, Wash., and St. John's Seminary, Plymouth, Mich. He subsequently headed Religious Studies departments at Nazareth College, Kalamazoo, Mich., and Siena College, Loudonville, N.Y., before joining the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John's University, New York.
He was the author of numerous books and articles, serving as well as Editor of the quarterly journal, Biblical Theology Bulletin, since 1982. He was summer adjunct faculty member in the Religious Studies program at the College of Charleston since 1994.
He served on the executive committee of the Charleston County Democratic Party. His devotion to social issues was religiously informed and motivated, honed by disciplined devotion to the rule of law for an inclusive democratic society.
For further information, please contact:
David M. Bossman
Bossmand@cofc.edu
