Beverley Foulks McGuire

Beverley is a Professor of East Asian Religions and Director of Seahawks Advancing Interdisciplinary Learning (SAIL), UNCW's Quality Enhancement Plan (2023-2028). She joined UNCW in 2010 and previously taught as a visiting assistant professor at UNC Greensboro. She grew up in Durham, North Carolina.

Education

Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University
M.Div., Harvard Divinity School
M.S. in Instructional Technology, University of North Carolina Wilmington
B.A. in Comparative Literature, Stanford University

Specialization in Teaching

Beverley teaches a wide range of courses, including Asian Religions (PAR 232), The Contemplative Life (PAR 222), Buddhism (PAR 371), Chinese Religions (PAR 373), Japanese Religions (PAR 374), Religious Views of Death and Dying (PAR 364), and Philosophical and Religious Perspectives on Happiness (PAR 400). She also teaches First Year Seminars on Mindfulness (UNI 101 and HON 110), and she co-led a faculty study abroad program to Thailand (Bangkok and Chiang Mai) in the summer of 2024.

Research Interests

As a scholar of Buddhist Studies, Beverley's research interests include Buddhist views of karma, Buddhist practices of divination, repentance, and bodily asceticism, Buddhist board games, and Buddhist digital media. Her first book, Living Karma (Columbia University Press, 2014), examined an important but overlooked figure in Chinese Buddhist history, a monk named Ouyi Zhixu (1599-1655) who engaged in a variety of religious practices to try to change his karma, including repentance rituals that are ubiquitous in contemporary China, Taiwan, and Chinese diaspora communities. She also published a book, Mind the Gap: Navigating Transitions in Life with Mindfulness (UNCW, 2022), that is freely available as an e-book. She co-edited a book with Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand and Hussein Rashid entitled Teaching Critical Religious Studies (Bloomsbury, 2022), and she has published articles in the Journal of Chinese Religions, Material Religion, Religion Compass, and Teaching Theology and Religion.

Professional Service

Beverley previously served as Director of University Studies (2016-2019), UNCW's general education program, and she currently serves as Director of Seahawks Advancing Interdisciplinary Learning (SAIL), UNCW's Quality Enhancement Plan from 2023-2028. She has also served on numerous committees, including the University Studies Advisory Committee, University College Advisory Board, Center for Teaching Excellence Advisory Board, and Honors College Advisory Board.

Community Engagement

Beverley frequently teaches courses at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), and she has also taught mindfulness courses for various communities in Wilmington, NC.

Honors & Awards

Distinguished Teaching Professorship
Applied Learning Strategic Initiative Grant for Mindful UNCW Initiative (with Jacquelyn Lee and Anne Pemberton)
Thomas W. Ross Publishing Grant
Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award
Summer Pedagogy Development Award
CAS Online Course Development Award
Public Theologies of Technology and Presence Program Participant
Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning Project Grant (with Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand and Hussein Rashid)
Sacred Writes Fellowship
ETEAL Award
BRIDGES Academic Leadership Program for Women (UNC-Chapel Hill)
NextUp Faculty Leadership Program