Brad R. Braxton
Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) announced in May the appointment of Dr. Brad R. Braxton as the 14th president of the seminary. A New Testament scholar with a wide-ranging portfolio inside and outside of theological education, he succeeds Interim President Marsha Foster Boyd, who served after former President Rev. Dr. Stephen G. Ray, Jr., retired in August 2021.
Braxton, an ordained Baptist minister whose position includes a faculty appointment in Public Theology, joins CTS from St. Luke’s School, a coeducational independent school in New York, NY, where he served as Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer.
Prior to his work at St. Luke’s School, Braxton held professorships at Southern Methodist University, Vanderbilt University, and Wake Forest University, as well as lectureships at Georgetown University, Harvard Divinity School, and McCormick Theological Seminary. He formerly served as the director of the Center for the Study of African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
He has been a pastor at several churches, serving as founding senior pastor of The Open Church, an inclusive congregation in Baltimore, Maryland committed to social activism, LGBTQ+ equality, and interfaith collaboration.
He earned his Ph.D. in New Testament studies from Emory University, where he was a George W. Woodruff Fellow; a master’s degree in theology from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar; and a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from the University of Virginia, where he was a Jefferson Scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Victor Aloyo
Columbia Theological Seminary
Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo has been appointed the 11th president of Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, by the Board of Trustees, effective Aug. 1, 2022.
He most recently served as associate dean of Institutional Diversity and Community Engagement at Princeton Theological Seminary, and has extensive experience in congregational ministry.
Aloyo is a trustee of the Presbyterian Foundation, Family Promise, the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, the Muhlenberg Foundation, and Convener of the Covenant Architects Network. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies and Sociology from the College of New Rochelle, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed his dissertation on navigating diversity and inclusion within a framework of social justice.
Aloyo succeeds Leanne Van Dyk, who announced her retirement effective July 31, 2022; she served as president since 2015.
Eric Anthony Joseph
Multnomah University
Eric Anthony Joseph, Ph.D., assumed duties in March as president of Multnomah University in Portland, Oregon, succeeding Rev. Dr. Craig Williford, who retired after nearly eight years as president.
Joseph, the first African-American to lead the university, has over three decades of experience in higher education and Christian ministry as a teacher, administrator, and independent consultant. He previously served as director and chaplain of the Coleman Heritage Center at Langston University, where he also taught and served as associate dean and director of the Coleman Heritage Center and director of the Massey Center for Ministry and Leadership.
Throughout, he was active as a church leader, elder, and minister.
He holds a B.A. in Communications, an M.Div. in Bible Exposition, an Ed.D., and a Ph.D. in Intercultural Education, all from Biola University, where he was twice national champion in track and field and the Male Athlete of the Year in the National Christian Colleges Athletic Association.
Michael C. McCarthy, S.J.
Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
Michael C. McCarthy, S.J., former vice president for mission integration and planning and associate professor of theology at Fordham University, has been named dean of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, effective July 1.
He succeeds Thomas Stegman, S.J., who stepped down at the conclusion of the Spring 2022 semester.
A distinguished theologian, teaching scholar, and experienced university administrator, Fr. McCarthy brings more than 30 years of academic, administrative, and ministerial experience at Fordham, Santa Clara, Loyola University Chicago and University of San Francisco to his new position. His writing and research have appeared in the Harvard Theological Review, the Journal of Early Christian Studies, Theological Studies, and the Journal of the American Academy of Religion.
McCarthy entered the Society of Jesus in 1983, and received a B.A. in classical languages from Santa Clara University, a B.A./M.A. degree from Oxford University in philosophy and classical literature, a M.Div. degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in theology from the University of Notre Dame.
Gregory M. Howard
Shaw Divinity School
Shaw University of Raleigh, North Carolina, has selected the Rev. Dr. Gregory M. Howard as dean of Shaw University Divinity School. He previously served in the role of assistant dean and as associate professor of Practical Ministry and Black Church Studies.
A native of Lancaster, Virginia, Dr. Howard also held faculty and administrative positions at Shaw and at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, like Shaw an historically Black institution.
He is the most recent past president of the Baptist General Convention of Virginia and a former Trustee of Virginia Union University. He also has 20 years of pastoral experience and currently serves as senior pastor of the Union Branch Baptist Church in Chesterfield, Virginia.
Howard holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management and Development from Bluefield College, a Master of Divinity from the DeWitt Proctor School, an Executive MBA from Virginia Union University, and a Doctorate in Preaching from the Aquinas Institute of Theology at St. Louis University.
He is the author of Black Sacred Rhetoric: The Gospel According Religious Folk Talk and Voices Crying Out in the Wilderness: Theological Reflections Where Context Matters.
He succeeds Dr. Johnny Bernard Hill, who began his service as dean in 2017.