Leslie Desmangles, professor of religion and international studies, has long been recognized by his students and colleagues for the high caliber of his teaching and research. In November, his alma mater, Temple University in Philadelphia, joined those heralding his accomplishments when its department of religion presented him with its Distinguished Alumnus Award. Desmangles is just the third recipient of this award in the department’s 50-year history.

Desmangles graduated from Temple with his Ph.D. in anthropology of religion in 1975 and joined Trinity’s faculty in 1978. He was honored by Temple at the November 2013 meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Baltimore.

The Distinguished Alumnus Award was presented to Desmangles in honor of his entire body of work, which includes decades of exemplary teaching; his award-winning 1994 book, The Faces of the Gods: Vodou and Roman Catholicism in Haiti; and many other publications on the anthropology of religion, with a particular focus on the Caribbean.

“This is the last thing I thought would happen to me,” said Desmangles of the award. “I was humbled when I received this letter to come to the American Academy of Religion meeting to receive this award. You get involved in your work and plow through things, and then this comes as a great surprise.”

Currently, Desmangles is working on a book about the ritualistic use of food in the Caribbean and researching the history and development of Judaism in the Caribbean.