Marla Frederick becomes first Black woman to lead Harvard’s divinity school

University President Claudine Gay wrote in an email to Divinity School affiliates that she is “thrilled to welcome Marla back to Harvard.”

Marla F. Frederick is the first woman and first Black female named dean of Harvard Divinity School in its 207-year history.

Frederick currently serves as a professor of religion and culture at Emory University and will begin her tenure at HDS on Jan. 1, 2024, according to The Harvard Crimson.

After joining Harvard’s faculty in 2003, she received tenure in 2010. Frederick spent 16 years as a professor in Harvard’s ​​African and African American Studies Department. Her departure from Harvard to Emory University’s School of Theology in 2019 came when many Black faculty members were leaving Harvard for peer institutions, according to the university.

University President Claudine Gay wrote in an email to Divinity School affiliates that she is “thrilled to welcome Marla back to Harvard.”

“I am confident that Marla’s leadership qualities, her academic stature, her wide-ranging curiosity, her collaborative mindset, and her thoughtful and caring approach to all she does will combine to make her an excellent new dean,” Gay added.

Speaking to the Harvard Gazette, a University-run news publication, Frederick called HDS “a place bustling with conscientious faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends, who are committed to the work of justice and human flourishing informed by deep study.” 

“I look forward to joining the HDS community in developing religious and civic leaders for our increasingly complex and diverse society,” she shared. 

University Provost Alan M. Garber told the Harvard Gazette that Frederick is “the right person to lead HDS in the years to come.”

“​​Marla deeply understands the unique role and influence of the Harvard Divinity School, and why it is a cherished institution,” Garber said. 

Gerber said Frederick “recognizes the challenges and opportunities facing the school and will bring a fresh perspective informed by her service both within and outside of Harvard.”

The university’s outgoing Divinity School dean, David N. Hempton, joined the faculty in 2012. He announced in October that he would step down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

Professor David F. Holland of New England church history will serve as interim dean from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31.

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