Our Faculty

Evolve into inspiring leaders of faith with our acclaimed faculty.

Our faculty are teacher-scholars: accessible mentors and exceptional educators. The teacher-scholar model is more than an idea. The faculty at the School of Divinity is more than a collection of instructors. Just as you are invested in your education, our faculty are invested in you. Wake Forest is a leading national university where faculty — not graduate assistants — teach all full-credit academic courses. The student-faculty ratio at the School of Divinity is 7 to 1. What you think matters; what you feel matters; what you do matters, and it matters to more than just you. Our faculty are invested in you.

Meet Our Faculty

To read more about how each of our faculty embody outstanding classroom teaching, student mentoring, creative and engaged scholarship, and commitment to community life click their photo for a complete bio.

John Carter, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion, Law, and Public Life
Jill Y. Crainshaw, Vice Dean for Faculty Development and Academic Initiatives and Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology
Dr. Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo
Elizabeth O’Donnell Gandolfo, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Earley Associate Professor of Catholic and Latin American Studies
Headshot of Professor Gary Gunderson
Gary Gunderson, Professor of Faith and Health of the Public
Melanie Harris
Melanie L. Harris, Professor of Black Feminist Thought and Womanist Theology | Director of the Food, Health and Ecological Well-Being Program
Headshot of Derek Hicks, Associate Professor
Derek S. Hicks, Associate Professor of Religion and Culture
Headshot of Professor Kevin Jung
Kevin Jung, Professor of Theological Ethics and Moral Philosophy
Charles Austin Rivera
Austin Rivera, Assistant Professor of Church History
Melva L. Sampson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology
Headshot of Professor Katherine Shaner
Katherine A. Shaner, Associate Professor of New Testament
Dr. Corey D. B. Walker, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities and Director, The Program in African American Studies, poses outside Reynolda Hall on Tuesday, August 24, 2021.
Corey D. B. Walker, Dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the Program in African American Studies
Neal H. Walls, Associate Professor of Old Testament Interpretation
Wynnetta Wimberley, Assistant Teaching Professor of Practical Theology

Emeriti Faculty

Headshot of Professor Mark Jensen
Mark E. Jensen, Teaching Professor of Pastoral Care and Pastoral Theology (2000-2023)
Headshot of Professor Emeritus Bill Leonard
Bill J. Leonard, Founding Dean and Professor of Divinity Emeritus (1999-2018)

Media Requests

The Office of Communications is responsible for communicating information regarding faculty research, programs, and other news to appropriate media sources. Faculty are available to provide comment for a story or be interviewed (recorded and/or live).  To request, contact Cheryl Walker, director of news and communications for Wake Forest University.