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Our Faculty. Inspiring Leaders.

Our Faculty - Inspiring Leaders

Our Faculty – Inspiring Leaders

Engaging Teachers

Our faculty shine for being spiritually, intellectually, theologically and experientially diverse—while united in a deep commitment to innovative scholarship, social progress, and the pursuit of wisdom.

Inspiring Leaders

Innovative and provocative, they challenge you and each other. Alums say working with faculty mentors was among the most valuable experiences of their Drew education.

Drew Theological School changed my life. After my first semester, I was about to transfer schools because I didn’t think I would be successful but after talking with Dr. Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre and Dr. Arthur Pressley, I decided to stay. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. The faculty helped me become a courageous ministerial leader. They allowed me to be my authentic self and helped me develop in areas that needed growth. I will forever be grateful for all of my professors and classmates. I thank God for my time in Seminary Hall. ”

Faculty Profiles

Faculty
Emeriti Faculty
Affiliate Faculty

Faculty

Edwin David Aponte
Dean of the Theological School
Professor of Religion and Culture

PhD, MA, Temple University
MATS, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
BA, Gordon College

Seminary Hall Room 102
eaponte@drew.edu
973-408-3276

Edwin David Aponte CV – 2022

Tanya Linn Bennett
Associate Dean for Vocation and Formation
Associate Professor in the Practice of Public Theology and Vocation
University Chaplain

MDiv, MPhil, PhD, Drew University
BA, Allegheny College

Seminary Hall 102
tbennett@drew.edu
973-408-3718

Tanya Linn Bennett CV – 2022

Chris Boesel
Associate Professor of Christian Theology

MTS, PhD, Emory University
BA, Westmont College

Seminary Hall 107
cboesel@drew.edu
973-408-3789

Chris Boesel CV – 2022

Katherine Brown
Associate Teaching Professor of Language and Culture
Director of Theological Language and Learning

Seminary Hall B011
kgbrown@drew.edu
973-408-3397

Danna Nolan Fewell
John Fletcher Hurst Professor of Hebrew Bible

MTS, PhD, Emory University
BA, Louisiana College

Seminary Hall 105
dfewell@drew.edu
973-408-3543

Danna Nolan Fewell CV – 2022

Jonathan Golden
Assistant Teaching Professor in Religious Studies
Director, Center of Religion, Culture & Conflict
Convener, Conflict Resolution and Leadership Certificate

PhD, University of Pennsylvania
BA, Brandeis University

jgolden@drew.edu
973-408-3511

Jonathan Golden CV – 2023

Meredith E. Hoxie Schol
Assistant Teaching Professor in Religious Education & Leadership
Director of Doctoral Studies

PhD, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
MDiv, Boston University
BA, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Seminary Hall 21
mhoxieschol@drew.edu
973-408-3452

Meredith Hoxie Schol CV – 2021

Gladson Jathanna
Assistant Professor of the History of Christianities

ThD, Georg August Universität
MTh, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute
BD, Karnataka Theological College
BA, Mangalore University

Seminary Hall 108

Gladson Jathanna CV – 2022

Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre
Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity

MDiv, ThD, Harvard University
BA, Eastern College

Seminary Hall 105
mjjohnso@drew.edu
973-408-3823

Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre CV – 2023

Laurel Kearns
Professor of Ecology, Religion and Society

MA, PhD, Emory University
BA, Florida State University

Seminary Hall 103
lkearns@drew.edu
973-408-3009

Laurel Kearns CV – 2022

Catherine Keller
George T. Cobb Professor of Constructive Theology

PhD, Claremont Graduate University
MDiv, Eden Theological Seminary
BA, University of Heidelberg

Seminary Hall 110
ckeller@drew.edu
973-408-3268

Catherine Keller CV – 2023

Hyo-Dong Lee
Associate Professor of Comparative Theology

PhD, Vanderbilt University
MDiv, United Theological College
BA, BTh, MA, McGill University
BA, Yonsei University

Seminary Hall 22
hlee5@drew.edu
973-408-3129

Hyo-Dong Lee CV – 2022

Jesse Mann
Associate Teaching Professor in the History of Christianity and Practice of Theological Research
Theological Librarian

MA, PhD, University of Chicago
BA, Dickinson College

Library 127A
jmann@drew.edu
973-408-3472

Jesse Mann CV – 2022

Mark A. Miller
Director of Craig Chapel
Professor of Church Music
Composer in Residence

MM, The Juilliard School
BA, Yale University

Seminary Hall 206
mamiller@drew.edu
973-408-3844

Mark Miller CV – 2020

Stephen Moore
Edmund S. Janes Professor of New Testament Studies

PhD, University of Dublin
BA, University College, Galway

Seminary Hall 106
smoore@drew.edu
973-408-3313

Stephen Moore CV – 2023

Kevin Newburg
Associate Teaching Professor in the History of Christianity and Methodist Studies

MPhil, PhD, Drew University
MA, Nazarene Theological Seminary
BA, MA, Point Loma Nazarene University

Seminary Hall 17
knewburg@drew.edu
973-408-3928

Kevin Newburg CV – 2022

Kenneth Ngwa
Professor of Hebrew Bible
Director, Religion and Global Health Forum

PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary
BA, MA Yaoundé Faculty of Protestant Theology, Cameroon

Seminary Hall 11
kngwa@drew.edu
973-408-3780

Kenneth Ngwa CV – 2022

Minjung Noh
Assistant Professor of Transnational Christianity and Gender Studies
Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD, Temple University
MA, The Seoul National University
BA, The Seoul National University

Seminary Hall 19
mnoh@drew.edu
973-408-3361

Minjung Noh CV – 2022

Francisco Pelaez-Diaz
Assistant Teaching Professor in Latinx Studies and Ministries

PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary
ThM, Princeton Theological Seminary
Bachelor of Theology, Seminario Teológico Presbiteriano de México

Seminary Hall 29
fpelaezdiaz@drew.edu
973-408-3410

Francisco Pelaez-Diaz CV 2022

Arthur Pressley
Associate Professor of Psychology and Religion

PhD, Northwestern University
MDiv, Garrett-Evangelical Seminary
BA, Allegheny College

Seminary Hall 208
apressle@drew.edu
973-408-3594

Arthur Pressley CV – 2023

Eli Rosenblatt
Wallerstein Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies

PhD, University of California, Berkeley
BA, Sarah Lawrence College

Seminary Hall 28
erosenblatt@drew.edu
973-408-3350

Eli Rosenblatt CV – 2023

Robert Paul Seesengood
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Theological School
Associate Teaching Professor of Bible and Cultures

PhD, Drew University
ThM, Princeton Theological Seminary
MDiv, Harding School of Theology
BA, Arkansas State University

Seminary Hall 102
rseeseng@drew.edu
973-408-3820

Robert Paul Seesengood CV – 2022

Daniel D. Shin
E. Stanley Jones Chair in Evangelism
Associate Professor of Theology and World Christianity

PhD, University of Chicago
MDiv, Yale University
BA, MA, Wheaton College

Seminary Hall 23
dshin@drew.edu
973-408-3746

Daniel Shin CV – 2022

Gary V. Simpson
Associate Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Formation

DMin, United Theological Seminary
MDiv, Union Theological Seminary
BA, Denison University

Seminary Hall 16
gsimpson@drew.edu
973-408-3992

Gary Simpson CV – 2023

Angella M. Pak Son
Professor of Psychology and Religion

PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary
BSB, University of Minnesota

Seminary Hall 25
ason@drew.edu
973-408-3260

Angella M. Pak Son CV – 2022

Althea Spencer-Miller
Assistant Professor of New Testament

PhD, Claremont Graduate University
ThM, Emory University
BA, University of the West Indies

Seminary Hall 24
aspencer@drew.edu
973-408-3281

Althea Spencer-Miller CV – 2020

J. Terry Todd
Associate Professor of American Religious Studies

PhD, Columbia University
MDiv, Harvard University
BA, Boston University

Seminary Hall 112
jtodd@drew.edu
973-408-3847

Terry Todd CV – 2021

Traci C. West
James W. Pearsall Professor of Christian Ethics and African American Studies

PhD, Union Theological Seminary
MDiv, Pacific School of Religion
BA, Yale University

Seminary Hall 203
twest@drew.edu
973-408-3082

Traci C West CV – 2022

Emeriti Faculty

S. Wesley Ariarajah
Professor Emeritus of Ecumenical Theology

Robert S. Corrington
Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology

MPhil, PhD, Drew University
BA, Temple University

rcorring@drew.edu

Heather Murray Elkins
Emerita Professor of Worship, Preaching, and the Arts

PhD, Drew University
MDiv, Duke University
MA, University of Arizona
BA, Prescott College

Leonard Sweet
Professor Emeritus of Evangelism

PhD, University of Rochester
MDiv, Colgate Rochester Divinity School
BA, University of Richmond

lsweet@drew.edu
973-722-0954

Affiliate Faculty

Rodney Aist - Affiliate Faculty in Pilgrimage and Spirituality

The Rev. Dr. Rodney Aist is the course director at St. George’s College, Jerusalem, where he leads, teaches, and guides study pilgrimages for laity, clergy, and seminarians from around the world. A pilgrimage and Holy Land scholar, Rodney works on Christian pilgrimage texts to Jerusalem before the Crusades, while currently focused on the applications of a pilgrimage-themed spirituality for Christian formation. His publications include Pilgrim Spirituality: Defining Pilgrimage Again for the First Time (Cascade, 2022), Jerusalem Bound: How to be a Pilgrim in the Holy Land (Cascade, 2020), and Mission Bound: Short-Term Mission as Pilgrimage (Cascade, forthcoming) as well as The Christian Topography of Early Islamic Jerusalem (Brepols, 2009) and From Topography to Text: The Image of Jerusalem in the Writings of Eucherius, Adomnán, and Bede (Brepols, 2019). He’s also a co-editor on a volume on Jerusalem pilgrimage texts to be published by Brill in 2023.

Rodney’s personal pilgrimages include an around-the-world Christian pilgrimage and two extended experiences on the Camino de Santiago as well as leading and hosting short-term Christian communities from family camps to short-term mission trips. He’s an associate member of the Iona Community and has written for Wild Goose Publications (Iona Books). He’s traveled to seventy countries, living, at least temporarily, in ten.

An ordained United Methodist elder, Rodney has served Christian communities in Arkansas, Scotland (Glasgow and Orkney), Italy (Milan and Rome), and the Navajo Nation. He’s a graduate of Southern Methodist University (BA), Duke Divinity School (MDiv), and the University of Wales, Lampeter (MA in Celtic Christianity, PhD in theology). Fellowships include multiple years as a research fellow at the W.F. Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem.

His work with Drew includes the DMin track in pilgrimage and spirituality and various TREC courses (e.g., Jerusalem, Rome, and Native America).

Ashley Boggan D. - Affiliate Faculty in Methodist Studies

Dr. Ashley Boggan D. is the General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History. In this role, she ensures that the UMC understands its past in order to envision a more equitable future for all Methodists. Boggan earned her PhD from Drew Theological School’s Graduate Division of Religion, specializing in both Methodist/Wesleyan Studies and Women’s/Gender Studies. She earned an M.A. from the University of Chicago’s Divinity School, specializing in American Religious History. She has previously worked as staff at the General Commission on Archives and History (2012-2014) and the Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church (2014-2016). She was the Director of United Methodist Studies and Assistant Professor Christian History at Hood Theological Seminary (Salisbury, NC), an AME Zion Seminary, from 2017-2019 and was the Director of Women’s and Gender Studies and Assistant Professor of Religion at High Point University (High Point, NC) from 2019-2020. Dreff is a lay member of the Arkansas Annual Conference and the daughter of two ordained United Methodist ministers. Her Methodist lineage dates beyond this, back to the early 19th century when her great-great-great grandfathers were Methodist circuit-riders. She is the author of Nevertheless: American Methodists and Women’s Rights (2020) and Entangled: A History of American Methodism, Politics, and Sexuality (2018).

Charlotte Mallory - Affiliate Faculty in Restorative Justice and Prison Ministries

Reverend Charlotte Mallory is a native of Newark and East Orange, New Jersey. She is an ordained minister and retired Chaplain Supervisor at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton, NJ. Reverend Mallory holds a Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary as well as a Master of Public Administration degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois. She is a Board Certified Clinical Chaplain through the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy (CPSP). She also serves as Associate Minister at the Fountain Baptist Church in Summit, New Jersey, where the Reverend Doctor J. Michael Sanders is Pastor. Prior to her work for the NJ Department of Corrections, Reverend Mallory served as staff chaplain to the Bristol Myers-Squibb Children’s Hospital and Maternity and Women’s Services at the adjacent Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

“Telling our stories; Breaking the mold; Taking Risks; Paving the Way” is the theme of a new book in which Reverend Mallory is featured, along with several other women in specialized ministries. Edited by Princeton Theological Seminary Professors Abigail Evans and Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, the book is entitled Faith of Our Mothers, Living Still and was published in 2017. Reverend Mallory is a preacher of deep conviction to the good news of the Gospel and enjoys preaching and teaching. She has served on missions to Johannesburg, South Africa and Kibwezi, Kenya. She has also participated in the special missions of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention. Most recently, Reverend Mallory serves as Adjunct Professor at Drew Theological School in Madison, New Jersey.
Reverend Mallory remains committed to serving incarcerated women as well as women who are transitioning back into community and serves as an active member of the Criminal Justice Ministry at Fountain at Fountain Baptist Church.

Liana Piehler - Affiliate Faculty in Writing

Liana Piehler (PhD, Drew University) has often taught courses that have blended literature and the visual arts. Recent courses have included focus on Watercolor as a creative medium in the Humanities (The Watercolorist’s Craft–a recurring topic-based course); the Victorian landscape as seen by novelists, poets and artists; Victorian women artists and their twentieth-century descendants; Provincetown’s arts colony (1900-1950) as a reflection of American culture; and poets as observers of the natural world (from Emily Dickinson in the nineteenth century to Mary Oliver in the twentieth); as well as participation in ARLT 801–the interdisciplinary introduction to the program. Piehler regularly teaches the Joy of Scholarly Writing to students in the Arts and Letters and Medical Humanities programs, guiding and mentoring them on the dissertation journey. In addition to scholarly and creative writing, Liana Piehler is a visual artist specializing in watercolor, printmaking, collage, book arts, and other 2-and 3-D mediums. Along with her work in the A&L program, she serves as a faculty writing consultant at the CAE for graduate students, and serves as a writing instructor in Drew’s Theological School (Theological Research and Writing). She also offers an online colloquy for GDR students in the dissertation stage.

Sidney Williams - Affiliate Faculty in Faith and Finance

Rev. Dr. Sidney S. Williams, Jr. is a passionate, insightful, and connected leader who advises organizations with actionable frameworks that monetize their mission and leverage their core competencies. He advised c-suite level executives of Fortune 500 companies in a variety of industries while employed on Wall Street. Dr. Williams currently serves as an independent director for a publicly traded bank (NASDAQ: VLY) as well as advises non-profit organizations, privately held middle-market companies and start-up ventures primarily in the technology sector. His board expertise includes corporate social responsibility (ESG), audit, and investments. He is a highly sought after speaker for a diverse array of audiences.

Dr. Williams proactively engages and celebrates the strengths of others. In Morris County, New Jersey, he organized a multi-cultural team of grassroots leaders and local elected officials to address issues of homelessness, food insecurity, maternal health, recovery and education. This was a proactive effort to amplify the voices of the marginalized and now involves more than 2,000 volunteers and several interns from area colleges and universities. Dr. Williams is also working to equip faith leaders of smaller congregations and HBCUs across the United States to replicate his framework (F.I.S.H.) for social impact in their communities.

Dr. Williams’ scholarship is focused primarily on an interdisciplinary approach to storytelling, bridging social capital, and place-based investing. When confronted with the unexpected, he imagines new possibilities and inspires teams to pursue the difference that makes the most difference. He has published dozens of articles and two books—Morning Meditations: 100 Days to Believing You’re Successful and Fishing Differently: Ministry Formation in the Marketplace. Dr. Williams has equipped pastors and church planters on three continents as well as pastored two churches in Cape Town, South Africa. He is currently pastoring a congregation in Morristown, New Jersey, and is teaching a DMin course at Drew—Religion, Faith and Finance for Social Impact.