Wayne Pitard is an emeritus
professor in the Department of Religion at Illinois and retired director of the
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures. With a Ph.D. from Harvard University in
Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his research has focused
primarily on the religion of the ancient Canaanites, particularly on the only
surviving library of Canaanite religious texts, found in the ruins of the city
of Ugarit, Syria, and dating to about 1200 BCE. In September 2024, he also
published Watchman, Tell Us: John J. Bird and Black Politics in Post-Civil
War Illinois, research that began while he was director of the Spurlock
Museum.