(1910 – 2009)
Marjorie Hall Thulin (1910-2009) graduated from the University of Illinois in 1931. She enjoyed a successful career in advertising. She also published poetry and children's literature, and edited a book on the history of Glencoe, Ill., where she was a longtime resident and active community member.
Mrs. Thulin's desire for students to understand how religion grows and functions in a complex society, especially Christianity in American society, led her to endow a fund that makes it possible for an internationally known scholar of religion and contemporary culture to be resident on the Champaign-Urbana campus for several days each academic year. One of the main duties of the Marjorie Hall Thulin Scholar of Religion and Contemporary Culture is to deliver the annual Thulin lecture, which is a major public event on campus.
In 2009 Mrs. Thulin's friends and admirers at the university established in her honor two new undergraduate awards: the Marjorie Hall Thulin Prize for Excellence in the Study of Religion and the Marjorie Hall Thulin Scholarships for Study Abroad and for Student Research in Religion. More information about these awards can be found on the Student Awards page