Willis Jenkins

Willis Jenkins is the John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. His work bridges religious ethics, environmental humanities, and climate justice through transdisciplinary research initiatives.

• PhD in Religious Ethics from University of Virginia

Research focuses on:

• Climate justice and ethics amidst extinctions
• Multispecies methods in religious studies
• Contemplative ecologies
• Religion and ecological change
• Water security ethics
• Posthumanist religious ethics

Recent publications analyze intersections of Catholic ethics with ecological law, virtue ethics in Anthropocene contexts, and water rights frameworks. Co-directs the Coastal Futures Conservatory, a National Science Foundation-funded initiative integrating arts into environmental research at Virginia Coast Reserve. Awards include Templeton Award for Theological Promise (2008) and American Academy of Religion Award for Excellence (2014). Teaching includes courses on climate ethics and religion-environment relations.