Annette Y. Reed: M. Mark and Esther K. Watkins Assistant Professorship in the Humanities

Annette Y. Reed has been named the M. Mark and Esther K. Watkins Assistant Professor in the Humanities in the School of Arts and Sciences. She is a member of the department of religious studies, as well as the Jewish Studies Program and Graduate Group in Ancient History.

Dr. Reed’s research spans Second Temple Judaism, early Christianity, and Jewish/Christian relations in Late Antiquity. Her publications include Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity (Cambridge University Press, 2005), Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions (edited with Ra‘anan S. Boustan; Cambridge University Press, 2004), and The Ways that Never Parted: Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (edited with Adam H. Becker; Mohr Siebeck, 2003).

Dr. Reed received her doctorate from Princeton University in 2002 and came to Penn in 2007, after teaching for four years at McMaster University. She is a member of the editorial board for the book series Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism, a co-chair of the Society of Biblical Literature’s Hellenistic Judaism Section, and coordinator of the Philadelphia Seminar on Christian Origins.

Mark and Esther Watkins established the Watkins Assistant Professorship through a bequest in 1969.  Their gift supports an accomplished teacher who shows potential as a leader in his or her field.  The holder must demonstrate a breadth of knowledge and accomplishment spanning more than one discipline and, most importantly, have a lively awareness of the role and ramifications of the humanities as they touch upon cultural values, aesthetics, and history.

Arts & Sciences News

Michael Jones-Correa and Sophia Rosenfeld Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

They join three others from the University of Pennsylvania, selected as part of the Academy’s mission to convene leaders from “every field of human endeavor to examine new ideas, address issues of importance to the nation and the world, and work together.”

View Article >
Eva Del Soldato Awarded 2025-26 Rome Prize

She joins Sean Burkholder, of the Weitzman School of Design, and just 33 others in receiving the prestigious honor from the American Academy in Rome.

View Article >
Mark Trodden named Dean of Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences

A distinguished physicist and accomplished academic leader, Trodden will assume the role on June 1.

View Article >
Two Penn Arts & Sciences Faculty Named Guggenheim Fellows

Marcia Chatelain, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana Studies, and Matthew Levendusky, Professor of Political Science, are among 198 in the U.S. and Canada selected for this 100th class of fellows.

View Article >
Penn ATLAS Shares 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

The team, which includes Joseph Kroll, Evelyn Thomson, Elliot Lipeles, Dylan Rankin, and Brig Williams from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is part of an expansive collaboration studying high-energy collisions from the Large Hadron Collider.

View Article >
2025 School of Arts & Sciences Teaching Awards Announced

Penn Arts & Sciences annually recognizes faculty, lecturers, and graduate students for their exemplary teaching. This year’s honorees come from 10 departments and two programs.

View Article >