Undergraduate alumnus and long-time friend of the Religious Studies department Kirk Pinkerton has given a generous bequest to support graduate student research in religious studies. Pinkerton was a native of Hammond, Indiana, and attended IU, where he double majored in Political Science and Religious Studies, earning an honors degree in Religious Studies (1972). After completing his J.D. at the IU Maurer School of Law (1975), Kirk pursued a career in legal practice for more than forty years. Although he was active in numerous civic organizations, loved and remained loyal to IU, and had an active family life, one of his enduring loves was the study of religion, including Protestant theology. He pursued part-time graduate study for a time at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and remained interested in and connected to the IU Department of Religious Studies throughout his adult life. Advanced study of religion was “the road not travelled” for Kirk, but he loved to read and talk about religion with others, and vigorously encouraged his law partner’s son as he studied for his PhD in Theology at Georgetown University. Pinkerton died at age 70 in December, 2020, and in his will gave multiple gifts to IU.
The department wishes to acknowledge and celebrate his enormously generous gift of $100,000 to the Steve Stein Fund, which supports graduate study and research in American religions.
Kirk Pinkerton Gifts to Steve Stein Fund
Saturday, March 2, 2024
The College of Arts