Congratulations to Robert Foster, who has been selected as one of the first recipients of UGA’s Non-Tenure Track Faculty Research Excellence Award. This award recognizes exceptional research productivity and commitment to excellence by a non-tenure track faculty member. Recipients demonstrate an exceptional degree of research novelty and impact on their field of study Dr. Foster, senior lecturer in the Department of Religion, has received excellent reviews from major figures in his field for his innovative 2019 book We Have Heard, O LORD: An Introduction to the Theology of the Psalter, published by Lexington/Rowman & Littlefield. It is one of only a few books in the last two centuries to explore various portraits of God within the 150 psalms of the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible. Analyzing the original Hebrew text, Foster focuses on different psalmists’ rhetorical strategies, offering close, linear (canonical) readings with ultimate attention devoted to the divine subject. He shows how psalmist portray God’s character and God’s actions to persuade their respective audiences, whether that audience is human (preaching) or divine (prayer). Reviewers have especially praised the book for its readable style and accessible format, allowing Foster to communicate his ideas to both academic and non-academic readers. This book, together with his 2020 volume The Theology of the Books of Haggai and Zechariah (Cambridge University Press) and his many articles in leading journals, testify to Dr. Foster’s exceptional research productivity and excellence.
