Terrence L. Johnson, director of religion and public life and Charles G. Adams Professor of African American Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, has been appointed the next Mary Lee Hardin Willard Dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University. A highly regarded theological scholar and academic leader as well as an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, Johnson will begin his five-year term Aug. 1, 2026, after Dean Jonathan Strom concludes his term and returns to the faculty full-time.

"The Candler community sought a leader who will build upon the school's strengths, including a faculty whose scholarly excellence is matched by deep commitment to their students, a community animated by ecumenical openness, and a commitment to educating faithful and creative leaders for the church’s ministries throughout the world," says Badia Ahad, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “Dr. Johnson is well positioned to work with faculty, staff, students and church leaders to advance Candler’s strategic initiatives and priorities while forging connections across disciplines and denominations."

Ahad announced Johnson’s appointment May 7, 2026, following a national search.

“Candler School of Theology remains central to Emory’s identity and mission as it has for more than a century,” says Interim President Leah Ward Sears 80L. “Dr. Johnson will be an outstanding dean to lead the school into the future.”

Founded in 1914, Candler is one of 13 seminaries affiliated with The United Methodist Church (UMC) in addition to being one of seven graduate professional schools at Emory. The school enrolls more than 500 students, employs 40 full-time faculty and offers five master’s degrees, a doctor of ministry and nine dual-degree programs, several of which are available in online and hybrid formats. In recent years, Candler has expanded its reach through The Candler Foundry, a public theological education initiative, and La Mesa Academy for Theological Studies, which offers a multilingual curriculum leading to a graduate certificate.

“During the interview process, Dr. Johnson impressed us as a leader who is well prepared to fulfill the unique mixture of academic, administrative and philanthropic roles as dean,” says retired UMC Bishop William T. McAlilly 81T, vice chair of the Emory Board of Trustees and a member of the Candler dean search advisory committee. "As an ordained elder in the AME Church, he has a deep, lived experience of Methodism and understands Candler's strong ties to the UMC. At the same time, his scholarly engagement with religion in public life and his experience building partnerships across faith traditions will enrich Candler and extend its Christian commitments in new ways."

A record of institutional leadership

In his current role as director of religion and public life at Harvard, Johnson was charged with a broad mandate to expand the program’s reach within and beyond the university, restore interfaith relationships, build executive education programs and set new research priorities.

He secured new donor support for interreligious programming and launched the Black and Jewish Leadership Initiative in 2021 with a 30-member inaugural cohort that brought together deans, senior administrators and professionals from medicine, journalism and other fields. He also redesigned the master of religion and public life degree to better integrate public scholarship with professional formation.

“I am deeply honored and excited to join Candler School of Theology and Emory University, one of the world’s most esteemed research universities,” says Johnson. “Candler is a premier institution rooted in the Christian tradition and committed to forming learned clergy, engaged religious leaders, and, in collaboration with the Graduate Division of Religion, outstanding scholars of theology and religious studies.

“I am excited about working with the Candler community to build on its strengths, including its location in the culturally rich context of Atlanta and the South,” he adds. “I believe Candler can be the perfect place to facilitate engagement around vital issues of our time, leaning into Emory's deep expertise in religion, law and ethics to both equip our own students to ask critical questions and to lead broader conversations with people from around the world.”

Johnson is a faculty associate of Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, a core faculty member for the university’s Program in American Studies, a member of the Department of African and African American Studies and a member of the Corporation of Haverford College. He also serves as co-editor of the "Harvard Theological Review" and, along with Dianne Stewart, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Religion and African American Studies at Emory, and Jacob Olupona, Hugh K. Foster Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard, co-edits the book series “Religious Cultures of African and African Diaspora People” at Duke University Press.

Prior to Harvard, Johnson served as director of graduate studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Georgetown University, where he spearheaded a partnership between the university and the Smithsonian Institution to advance public scholarship on race and religion. As chair of political theory in the Department of Government, Johnson nurtured interdisciplinary collaboration, helped secure new postdoctoral and junior faculty lines and promoted research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. He also played a key role in the creation of Georgetown’s Humanities Center.

Distinguished scholarship

A graduate of Morehouse College, Johnson earned his master of divinity from Harvard Divinity School and his PhD from Brown University. In 2024, he served as an inaugural Steven M. Polan Fellow in Constitutional Law and History at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

Johnson’s research weaves together African American religions, political theory and American history to explore questions of democracy, ethics, justice and the role of religion in public life. He is the author of "Tragic Soul-Life: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Moral Crisis Facing American Democracy" and "We Testify with Our Lives: How Religion Transformed Radical Thought from Black Power to Black Lives Matter," and co-author of "Blacks and Jews: An Invitation to Dialogue," which received the 2023 Outstanding Book Award from the Association for Ethnic Studies.

He is currently completing a new book, "Torn Asunder: Race and Religion in the Shadow of Law and Justice," which will focus on African American religious thought, ethics and political theory in relation to political pluralism and moral reasoning.

In announcing Johnson’s appointment, Ahad thanked the search advisory committee, including chair Kimberly Jacob Arriola, dean of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies and vice provost for graduate affairs, and co-chair Ian McFarland, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Theology, for their dedication and insight. The search was conducted in partnership with Heidrick & Struggles.

“We sought a dean who would be a strong advocate for our students, faculty and institution and in Dr. Johnson, we found exactly that,” she says. “I also want to express my deep gratitude to Dean Strom for his devotion to Candler. Thanks to his steady leadership, the school is well positioned for its next chapter, and I am confident that Candler and its faculty, staff and students are poised for continued success under Dr. Johnson’s tenure."