News

Marla Frederick leads Harvard Divinity School as the first Black woman ever.

University President Claudine Gay wrote in an email to Divinity School affiliates that she is “thrilled to welcome Marla back to Harvard.”

Loading the player…

Marla F. Frederick is the first woman and first Black female named dean of Harvard Divinity School in its 207-year history.

Frederick currently serves as a professor of religion and culture at Emory University and will begin her tenure at HDS on Jan. 1, 2024, according to The Harvard Crimson.

Students walk through Harvard Yard, April 27, 2022, on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (AP Photo by Charles Krupa, File)

After joining Harvard’s faculty in 2003, she received tenure in 2010. Frederick spent 16 years as a professor in Harvard’s ​​African and African American Studies Department. Her departure from Harvard to Emory University’s School of Theology in 2019 came when many Black faculty members were leaving Harvard for peer institutions, according to the university.

University President Claudine Gay wrote in an email to Divinity School affiliates that she is “thrilled to welcome Marla back to Harvard.”

“I am confident that Marla’s leadership qualities, her academic stature, her wide-ranging curiosity, her collaborative mindset, and her thoughtful and caring approach to all she does will combine to make her an excellent new dean,” Gay added.

Speaking to the Harvard Gazette, a University-run news publication, Frederick called HDS “a place bustling with conscientious faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends, who are committed to the work of justice and human flourishing informed by deep study.”

“I look forward to joining the HDS community in developing religious and civic leaders for our increasingly complex and diverse society,” she shared.

Screenshot of Marla Frederick, the first Black woman to lead Harvard’s divinity school. (Credit: Harvard Divinity School/YouTube)

University Provost Alan M. Garber told the Harvard Gazette that Frederick is “the right person to lead HDS in the years to come.”

“​​Marla deeply understands the unique role and influence of the Harvard Divinity School, and why it is a cherished institution,” Garber said.

Gerber said Frederick “recognizes the challenges and opportunities facing the school and will bring a fresh perspective informed by her service both within and outside of Harvard.”

The university’s outgoing Divinity School dean, David N. Hempton, joined the faculty in 2012. He announced in October that he would step down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

Professor David F. Holland of New England church history will serve as interim dean from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrio’s Black Podcast Network is free too. 

Related Posts

Fleet of drones is spotted over major US airbase in Britain where they are building facilities to house nuclear weapons

The largest American airbase on British soil was buzzed by drones this week, the US Air Force has confirmed, amid unconfirmed reports that fighter planes were dispatched to intercept the encroaching aircraft. The incident occurred on Wednesday above RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which has been earmarked as a storage facility for US nuclear warheads three times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. While US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) played down the incursion, it will do little to dampen the prevailing mood of unease following warnings from Vladimir Putin that Ukraine’s use of British and American long-range weaponry could see military facilities in those countries targeted.

Cadbury ‘ruins Christmas’ by axing popular festive chocolate bar – leaving shoppers heartbroken

Cadbury have axed a popular Christmas chocolate bar leaving shoppers heartbroken as the chocolatier says it has to make way for something new. Chocolate fans have been left disappointed after Cadbury confirmed that its Dairy Milk Winter Orange Crisp bar will not be available this festive season. The 360g bar with tangy orange crisps quickly became a favourite among chocolate lovers last year but it has been confirmed it will not be returning to the shelves this Christmas.

Lindsay Lohan casually drops ‘huge flex’ about her Hollywood career after Parent Trap fame

Lindsay Lohan has revealed she hasn’t had to audition since her notorious feature film debut in the 1998 version of The Parent Trap. The actress, 38, casually dropped the bombshell during an appearance on Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live, where she also shared a hilarious anecdote from the movie’s premiere. The surprising admission came when Bravo star Andy, 56, asked whether there was another role she auditioned for that she didn’t get.

PETER HITCHENS: Our deadbeat leaders are marching us towards chaos. Why on earth do we trust them on war in Ukraine?

Do you have confidence in our leaders on tax, health, policing, farming, immigration, sleaze, housing, education or transport? Every single one a bungle, run by deadbeats where they generally achieve the opposite of what they promise. So why trust them on war in Ukraine? Yet here we go again, down the road to chaos. The weaker we get, the louder we shout. How the rest of the world must snigger at our great power posturing in Ukraine last week. They will have laughed especially at how pathetically and quickly we aped the Americans as they went directly into war with Moscow, authorising US Service personnel to guide ATACMS weapons to targets in Russia. As soon as Washington announced this dubious plan, London did the same with our Storm Shadow rockets. These cannot be launched without the direct involvement of British military know-how and American guidance systems.

Twisted new details emerge in case of father who ‘tried to choke teen daughter to death in honor killing’

A girl almost strangled by her father in an alleged ‘honor killing’ claims he threatened to murder her several times and abused her at home. Ihsan Ali, 44, and his wife Zahraa Subhi Mohsin Ali, 40, were charged with attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, and assault after the attack on October 18. The girl, 17, who wasn’t named, ran away from home to Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington, after her parents tried to put her on a plane to Iraq.

Storm Bert’s trail of carnage: Urgent search underway for ‘dogwalker swept away by floodwater’ after killer storm leaves three people dead as weather map reveals where 16 inches of snow and -11C freeze will hit parts of Britain

Storm Bert left a trail of carnage in its wake this weekend as an urgent search for a missing dogwalker was abandoned on Saturday afternoon. It comes after a day of chaos where three motorists were killed after two fatal crashes and a car was crushed by a falling tree. Another driver escaped tragedy after a different tree crushed his vehicle, while ten people including five children were rescued from a landslide in Wales.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *