Professor who left Wheaton College joining UVA faculty

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - A professor who was placed on leave at Wheaton College after asserting that Christians and Muslims worship the same God - and later agreed to part ways with the school - is joining the faculty at the University of Virginia.

The university's Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture said Thursday in a statement Larycia Hawkins accepted a position as the Abd el-Kader Visiting Faculty Fellow. The institute says she will research relationships between religions and races.

Hawkins was teaching political science at Wheaton College when she posted her views about Muslims and Christians on Facebook and donned a hijab, the headscarf worn by some Muslim women, to counter what she called "vitriolic" rhetoric against Muslims.

Wheaton College announced last month that it had reached a "confidential agreement" with Hawkins for her to leave.