Hugh Urban, a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor in the Department of Comparative Studies, has recently been appointed chair of the department for a four-year term that began July 1, 2024. 

Urban’s work focuses primarily on religions of South Asia and new religious movements in the United States. He has been a member of the department since finishing graduate school in 1998. 

“I am genuinely excited to be starting as chair of the Department of Comparative Studies this year. I have been pleased to see the program grow and develop in all sorts of interesting ways over the last 26 years,” he said. “I am particularly excited that we have a number of new faculty hires who represent a broad and diverse range of research interests and teaching areas. I'm grateful for the tremendous support I've received from the department and the college over the years and am happy to be able to give back a bit by serving as chair.”

Urban received his BA in Religion, Philosophy and Art from George Washington University and his MA in Religious Studies and PhD in History of Religions from the University of Chicago.