“I’m grateful for my time in The Forest”
August 2025 – Drew Theological School alum Dawrell Rich T’21,’24 has stepped into a new role that bridges his academic passions and pastoral calling.
Dawrell is serving as Chaplain at Church Farm School, an Episcopal, private boarding and day preparatory school with a history of student environmental engagement in Exton, Pennsylvania. “It’s a perfect match combining my theological and doctoral studies,” he said.
Dawrell earned his Master of Divinity in 2012 and his PhD in Religion, Society, and Ecology in 2024 with honors for his interdisciplinary research on how urban Black churches are responding to environmental injustice. His research offers bridging a gap between Black church studies, critical urban studies, and environmental justice as a pathway for building resilient communities.
“I’m grateful for my time in The Forest and the opportunity to conduct research that extends beyond the classroom and has a real-world impact, inspiring hope for a more sustainable future,” he said.
At Church Farm School, Dawrell leads spiritual life on campus while also teaching courses on religion and the environment—empowering students to see ecological stewardship as a spiritual practice.
This past spring, Dawrell presented his paper, Upending Apocalypse: An Eco-spiritual Response to the Anthropocene, at the University of Oxford. Looking ahead, he’s preparing to present at the AMPS (Architecture, Media, Politics, Society) Conference in Barcelona and the Urban Futures Symposium in Switzerland this fall.
