Dr. Elaine Heath, who has served as dean of United Methodist-related Duke Divinity School since 2016, has stepped down from that position as of Aug. 2, according to an announcement on the university's Duke Today website. Provost Sally Kornbluth announced Dr. Heath's withdrawal in a message to Divinity School faculty and staff.
A co-founder of the Missional Wisdom Foundation and former faculty at UMC-related Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Dr. Heath will remain on the Divinity School faculty as a professor of missional and pastoral theology, according to the announcementt.
“President Price and I are grateful to Elaine for her leadership over the past two years, and we share her excitement about continuing as a member of the Divinity School faculty to advance her work on several emerging initiatives that bridge the academy to the church and the world, including the Neighborhood Seminary,” Dr. Kornbluth was quoted by Duke Today.
L. Gregory Jones, the Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. professor of theology and Christian ministry, will serve as dean, according to the university article. Dr. Jones, who earned master's and doctoral degrees from Duke, was previously dean of Duke Divinity from 1997-2010.
“Greg is an experienced leader who knows the Divinity School and the university as well as anyone, and who is devoted to our shared goals of excellence and inclusion,” Dr. Kornbluth was quoted by Duke Today. “He will help guide the school through an important transition and transformation, and prepare us to conduct a national search for a new dean.”
In a separate mail to the Duke Divinity community, Dr. Jones said, “We have important challenges to address, including continuing the work of diversifying the faculty, staff, and student body, and building an ever-more inclusive and welcoming environment for all, so that we may have a richer common life. We need also to build bridges across various divides in the church, the academy, and across society. Christian faith can play a significant role in this bridge-building.”
No reason for Dr. Heath's withdrawal from the deanship was given in the Duke Today article. However, her tenure has been marked by ongoing conflicts over efforts to improve Duke Divinity's racial and gender inclusion, along with disputes with faculty over her management style.
According to the Raleigh News & Observer: "she had been the target of criticism about the school’s treatment of lesbian, gay and transgender students. ... In February, student protesters stormed a state-of-the-school speech by Heath. She later formed a task force at the school to work on those issues."
The local newspaper also noted a dispute with former professor Paul Griffiths over an email denigrating racial diversity training as "anti-intellectual" and "a waste." The News & Observer reported that Dr. Griffiths resigned after being disciplined because of his email, claiming that Dr. Heath "had banned him from faculty meetings and threatened to pull school funds for his travel and research."
United Methodist Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle contributed to this report.