Dr. Corey D.B. Walker will be the permanent dean of the Wake Forest School of Divinity, according to a Sept. 7  email sent on behalf of Wake Forest President Susan R. Wente and Provost Michele Gillespie. 

Walker has served as interim dean of the school since January 2023. During his time as interim dean, Walker helped organize numerous initiatives, including the Wake Div Experience — a program designed to “holistically integrate the student experience from ‘the point of inquiry to the point of influence.”’

Walker has extensive experience in higher education leadership. A few of these positions include serving as vice president, dean and professor of religion and society at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University, as well as chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Brown University. At Wake Forest, Walker directs the African American Studies program and is a Wake Forest professor of the humanities — for now, Walker will continue holding these positions.

“Corey Walker is a remarkable leader whose impressive record of scholarship and administrative leadership inform his compelling vision for graduate theological education,” Wente said in the press release. “Dr. Walker has served with distinction as interim dean, and I am confident he will effectively lead Wake Divinity in strengthening its impact and reach as a catalyst for good in society.”

Walker held the titles of Freedom Forum Institute Senior Fellow for Religious Freedom at the Freedom Forum Institute in Washington D.C., as well as Non-Resident Fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University.

Alongside his professional experience, Walker is the author and editor of multiple books and has been published in many different journals. He is an ordained American Baptist clergyperson who speaks to communities spanning across the country.

Walker shared his excitement to take the position in Wake Forest’s press release. 

“Wake Divinity is a distinctive community and a beacon for theological education,” Walker said. “The school combines a wealth of intellectual talent, institutional commitment and inspiration and passion to serve humanity. I am honored and excited to serve the Wake Divinity community as we create a new generation of theological leaders for faith communities and for our society and world.”