As a freshman at Bowdoin College, Prof. Jacob Kinnard was trying to find a European history class when he walked into the wrong classroom across the hall.

“I was too embarrassed to get up and walk out,” said Kinnard, who entered an Introduction to Asian Religions class — a wrong turn that led him to become a professor in the subject.

“It was interesting, it was exciting and it helped me think about my own life,” he said. “I was hooked.”

After four years of doing the same for Northwestern students in Introduction to Hinduism and Introduction to Buddhism, Kinnard will leave NU in June. He will end his visiting professorship to take a tenured position at William&Mary College.

Kinnard said he wanted to stay, but NU was unable to offer him a tenured position.

“He’s obviously been a very good teacher,” said Michael Sherry, a Weinberg associate dean. “So he’s leaving in fine standing.”

Prof. Richard Kieckhefer, chair of the religion department, said administrators worked to give Kinnard a comparable offer to keep him at NU but couldn’t compete with a tenured position.

“We would have loved for him to have stayed,” Kieckhefer said. “We’re very sorry to see him go and we have to wish him well at his new job.”

Kinnard’s style of teaching has caused his 300-person classes to fill up most quarters.

“I try to recapture what it was (that captured) me, by putting things in as concrete terms as possible without watering it down any,” Kinnard said.

Kinnard said he tries to turn topics — such as Buddhism’s characterization of the world as a place of suffering — into situations students can understand, like becoming too attached to getting A’s or suffering from relationship break-ups.

Many students said they are disappointed to see Kinnard leave.

Lindsay Monahan, a Speech sophomore and religion major who has taken three of Kinnard’s classes, said she liked that his paper assignments always asked valid questions that made her think.

“He always poses challenging questions and gives you new ways that alter the way you think about things,” Monahan said. “He’s also very appealing to students because he jokes around.”

Because religion classes are often the quickest classes to close out during registration, students might have even more trouble getting the coveted spaces with one fewer professor.

“Having Kinnard here was a way for the department to meet the student demand,” Kieckhefer said. “We still haven’t been able to meet that demand, but we’re working on it.”

Sherry said the department has done a good job so far of adjusting to the growing demand.

“Many classes still close, but they don’t close as early,” Sherry said. “(The department) has been able to mount more classes with more spaces, which has helped to absorb some of the long-standing demand from students.”

Kieckhefer said the department is seeking a replacement to fill Kinnard’s visiting professorship.

Another tenured position in American religion could also be filled soon, Sherry said. The department is waiting to hear from a candidate who was offered a position for next year, Sherry said.

Kinnard said he wasn’t surprised to find a strong interest from NU students in religion classes. He said he thinks interest has grown in the time he’s been here because students are naturally curious about the subject.

“It gives you insight into your own religion or your lack of religion,” Kinnard said. “It makes you reconsider your own life, which is what college is about.”