Bio: Edward R. Canda, Ph.D. and Leola Dyrud Furman, Ph.D.
Edward R. CandaEdward R. Canda received his Bachelors of Art in Anthropology from Kent State University. His focus was on anthropology of religions, art and art history, and interdisciplinary studies. He went to Seoul Korea for a Graduate Fellow in East Asian Philosophy after completing his undergraduate work. He earned a M.A. in Religious Studies, at University of Denver. He received his M.S.W. and PhD in Social Welfare at Ohio State University. Dr. Canda is the Chairperson of the PhD program in the School of Social Welfare at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and Kansas.
Dr. Canda has stated, “I am committed to promoting ways that people of diverse religious and non-religious spiritual perspectives can understand each other and cooperate in order to encourage peace and justice for all people and all beings.”
Leola Dyrud Furman
Leola Dyrud Furman, MSW, PhD is an Associate Professor Emeritus in Social Work at the University of North Dakota, and the director and the principal investigator of the International Study of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice.