Willie Jennings
Willie Jennings, a theologian who teaches in the areas of Christian thought, race theory, decolonial and environmental studies, was recently appointed the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies, effective July 1.
He has been a member of the Yale Divinity School faculty since 2015.
Jennings is the author of “The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race” (Yale University Press) and recipient of the 2010 American Academy of Religion Book of the Year in the Constructive- Reflective Studies category. The book, which is considered one of the most important books in theology written in the last 25 years, is now a standard text read in colleges, seminaries, and universities.
He also received the 2015 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his groundbreaking work on race and Christianity. Jennings’s commentary on the Book of Acts won the Reference Book of the Year Award, from The Academy of Parish Clergy. He is also the author of “After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging,” which was the inaugural book in the much-anticipated book series, “Theological Education between the Times.” The book won the 2020 book of the year award from Publisher’s Weekly and was selected as a finalist for the 2021 American Academy of Religion Book of the Year in the Constructive- Reflective Studies category. In 2023 it was recognized with the Lilly Fellows Program Book Award.
Jennings is widely recognized as a major figure in theological studies and theological education across North America and the world. He has given several prestigious lectures, including the Bampton Lectures at Oxford University, the Huslean Lectures at Cambridge University (Fall 2024), the Cole Lecture at Vanderbilt University, the Parks-King Lecture at Yale University, the Ferguson Lecture at Manchester University, and the Hughes-Cheong Lecture at the University of Melbourne.
He is currently completing a two-volume project on the doctrine of creation. Volume two, provisionally entitled, “Jesus and the Displaced: The Redemption of Habitation,” will be published before volume one which carries the provisionally title, “Unfolding the Word: Recasting a Christian Doctrine of Creation.” He is also finishing a book of poetry entitled, “The Time of Possession.”
Jennings is an ordained Baptist minister and has served as interim pastor for several North Carolina churches. A Calvin College graduate, Jennings received his M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in religion and ethics from Duke.
