On Sunday April 3, Maureen Tilley, professor of theology at Fordham University, died following complications from pancreatic cancer. “I was very saddened to hear about Dr. Tilley’s death,” Joseph McShane, SJ, president of Fordham University, said.

“First and foremost, my heart goes out to Terry [her husband] and to their family. Many people can—and will—speak of Maureen’s exceptional scholarship and service to Fordham, but for my part, I will miss her as a friend, a colleague, and a woman of enormous decency and integrity,” he continued.

According to her Fordham website biography, Maureen A. Tilley was an internationally known expert on religion in Roman North Africa, especially for her work on Donatism, an African form Christianity. She was also a past president of the North American Patristics and contributed to the editorial boards of Augustinian Studies and Horizons, the journal of the College Theology Society. She held an undergraduate degree from the University of San Francisco and an Ph.D. from Duke University.

Tilley is survived by her husband Terrence Tilley, the Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, Professor of Catholic Theology and the former chair of the theology department, daughters Elena DeStefano and Christine Dyer, granddaughter Jacqueline Dyer, and sisters Noelle Gervais and Josette Molloy.