Alex Gruber

Alex Gruber, a doctoral student in the modern historical track in the Theology Department at Fordham University

Education

B.A. Theology/Religious Studies and History - St. Norbert College, 2018

M.T.S. - Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry, 2020

Biography

Alex is a third-year doctoral student specializing in modern historical theology at Fordham University. His research focuses on U.S. Catholic and Indigenous histories, specifically the history of Catholic and Indigenous communities in the Upper Midwest and northeastern Wisconsin. Menominee, Oneida, and Ojibwe Indigenous communities; Walloon settlers in Door County; and the Norbertine or Premonstratensian Order all play roles in his research. Other areas of fascination and investigation for Alex include the stories of Catholicism and mysticism in Latin America and Spain, colonialism, and charism in religious orders and Catholic higher ed. 

Having been born and raised in Wisconsin, Alex remains deeply invested in, engaged with, and enamored by quality ice cream, gelato, custard, and other frozen desserts. With his undergraduate, graduate, and professional experience in residential life and undergraduate service, he also has a passion for establishing lasting, fruitful relationships between individuals and their surrounding communities, especially those communities most on the margins. You can find him on the researcher and research platform ORCID.

Alex’s projects include the following.

Academic 

  • "'Our Good Friends and Neighbors': Approaching Oneida-Norbertine History in Its Ecumenical Context," Journal of Ecumenical Studies 60, no. 3 (Summer 2025). https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/journal/668
  • "Catholicism as Cultural History: The Enduring Legacy of John O'Malley, S.J.," co-authored with Gabby Bibeau, The Catholic Historical Review 110, no. 2 (Spring 2024), 381-383. https://doi.org/10.1353/cat.2024.a928000
  • “The Premonstratensians as a Case Study for ‘the Long Nineteenth Century,” The Communicator 37, no. 1 (June 2021).
  • “Norbertine Women through the Millennium,” The Communicator 37, no. 1 (June 2021). 
  • “Vine and Branches: A History of the Norbertine Order in Northeastern Wisconsin,” unpublished work, Killeen Chair of Theology and Philosophy at St. Norbert College, April 2021.

Popular 

  • “Language about LGBTQ people has moral consequences,” U.S. Catholic, December 1, 2022.
  • “A reflection for the thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time,” U.S. Catholic, October 24, 2022. 
  • “Watching the Trial of Derek Chauvin during Holy Week,” America Magazine, April 1, 2021.

Presentations

  • "Place-Based Charisms at Catholic Universities," panel presentation, Leuven Encounters in Systematic Theology (LEST) XV conference, October 2025
  • "Uncovering Internationalism: Practicing Comparative Theology in Northeastern Wisconsin," panel presentation, College Theology Society (CTS) conference, June 2025.
  • "The Value of Charism for Catholic Institutions of Higher Education," panel presentation, American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA) conference, January 2025.

  • "'This Is How Our Minds Shall Be': Journeying into the Ongoing Relationship between the Oneida Nation and the Norbertine Order," panel presentation, ACHA conference, January 2025.

  • “'Our Good Friends and Neighbors': Approaching Oneida-Norbertine History in Its Ecumenical Context,” paper presentation, North American Academy of Ecumenists conference, September 2024.

  • “Laying Down Roots: The Origins of St. Norbert College and the Norbertines in the United States,” 2023 Heritage Lecture, St. Norbert College, October 16, 2023.

  • “The Golden Girls, Friendship, and the Life Well Lived,” SNCTalks lecture, St. Norbert College, March 24, 2023.

  • “I Shall Give You a Living Book: The Sacred Role of Librarians and Libraries in the Secular World,” Lumen et Vita conference, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, February 15, 2020

  • “Poor in Spirit: Asceticism and Gender in the Life of Saint Macrina,” Archbishop Iakovos Patristics Graduate Student Conference, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, February 28-March 2, 2019.

  • “Teresa of Ávila on Relationship, Virtue, and the Life Well Lived,” Lumen et Vita conference, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, February 9, 2019.