Noel Q. King

Noel Q. King came to UCSC in the late Sixties as a "founding father" of Merrill College. Born in India and educated in England, he spent 14 years in Africa heading departments of religious studies before being hired to do the same at Santa Cruz. Professor King was a prominent and beloved figure here on the hill. After he died in 2009, the Noel Q. King Memorial Lecture Series was started as a way to keep religious studies, and Noel King's idiosyncratic spirit, alive at UCSC.

If you would like to explore more, you can view an early Noel King lecture, a panel on Higher Mysteries from four crime writers who incorporate religion in their tales; read Noel’s book, The Travels of Ibn Battuta; or read the upcoming reissue of Holiness, by his close friend Donald Nicholl.

If you have any questions or would like to send pictures or memories of Noel, please contact Noel's memorial email account.