The current dean of Wake Forest University School of Divinity has been named the first Baptist to head Princeton Theological Seminary.
Jonathan Walton assumed leadership of Wake Forest Divinity just a little more than three years ago. He came to that role in 2019 from Harvard University, where he was a professor and minister of Harvard’s Memorial Chapel.
Wake Forest is a historically Baptist school, although now independent in governance. Princeton is a historically Presbyterian school that describes itself as “a denominational school with an ecumenical, interdenominational and worldwide constituency.” It is the second-oldest seminary in America.
Walton will succeed President M. Craig Barnes, who has led Princeton Seminary since January 2013. Walton will become the school’s eighth president in 110 years.
“Theological education is at an inflection point,” Walton said in the Princeton news release. “The church is changing. Society is changing. So we need clear-minded, faith-informed professionals who can speak hope, equity, and healing in all fields of human endeavor.”
Michael Fisch, chair of the Princeton Seminary board of trustees, lauded Walton’s “profound commitment to scholarship and strong leadership experience” which he said “perfectly position him to advance Princeton Seminary’s mission to serve as a vital and engaging hub for pastoral formation, Christian theology and leadership generally.”
Walton is trained as a social ethicist with scholarship focused on the intersection of evangelical Christianity, mass media and political culture. He is the author of two books: Watch This! The Ethics and Aesthetics of Black Televangelism and A Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World.
Walton earned a Ph.D. in 2006 and a master of divinity degree in 2002 from Princeton Seminary. His bachelor’s degree in political science is from Morehouse College. He is an ordained Baptist minister and has served on the board of trustees at Princeton Seminary.
Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, co-moderator of the 225th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and former member of Princeton Seminary’s Board of Trustees, also praised the election of the Baptist dean: “I could not be more hopeful and encouraged about the future of Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Walton represents Princeton Seminary’s vision and willingness to lean into this moment in history — by forging a new road, a road that seeks to rise to the challenges of a time such as this.”
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