Katherine “Katie” Low
BA, Doane College; MDiv and PhD, Texas Christian University
Dr. Katherine (Katie) Low grew up in a tiny rural town in Nebraska where she attended First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ (UCC). As a first-generation college student, she studied at Doane College, a UCC affiliated liberal arts college, where she triple majored in Religious Studies, Spanish, and English. In partial fulfillment for the Bachelor of Arts, Dr. Low studied abroad twice; first, in Israel and the West Bank at Tantur Ecumenical Institute, then at Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in Santiago, Dominican Republic. After college, she became a UCC and Disciples of Christ Homeland Ministries Intern and was sent to San Antonio, Texas, to become Volunteer Summer Coordinator at Inman Christian Center. There, she worked with many ministers who consistently told her she should go to seminary, so after a year teaching Spanish in an elementary school, she heeded their advice and went back to Texas for her education.
Dr. Low received an MDiv and PhD from Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, in Fort Worth, Texas. While gaining the degrees, Dr. Low pursued her passion for interfaith engagement through course work and higher-education ministry. She was ordained as a UCC minister in 2004, working as an intern for TCU’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and then as Associate Campus Minister at the Wesley Foundation, TCU. Dr. Low’s course work expanded across many disciplines, reaching into art history, film studies, and women’s studies. Dr. Low’s interests in Christian history, cultural and gender studies, and biblical studies led to the completion of her dissertation titled “Domestic Disputations at the Dung Heap: A Reception History of Job and His Wife in Christianity of the West.” Her book, The Bible, Gender, and Reception History: The Case of Job’s Wife (Bloomsbury, 2015) stems from her dissertation and orientation around reception history of the Bible. She continues to explore intersections of religion, gender, and culture, as evident in published articles in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Journal of Religion and Film, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion and Biblical Reception. Visit www.katherinelow.com to find out more about her scholarly achievements.
Dr. Low enjoys teaching introductory courses on the Bible and introducing students to the complexities of her field. As Chaplain, she holds the philosophy of supporting the spiritual growth of all students and directs the Quest interfaith program. A major portion of her job consists of maintaining Quest’s need for cream puffs and the chaplain’s lounge snack supply! During some spare-time, she enjoys reading young adult dystopian fiction and watching as much television and as many films as possible, especially zombie-related ones. Besides her spouse of over fifteen years, Dr. Low’s household consists of two daughters who light up her life, and one cat who often challenges her patience.