Brite Divinity School (Fort Worth, Texas) invites applications, expressions of interest, and nominations for its next Academic Dean and Executive Vice President (ADEVP). Brite seeks a visionary leader and scholar as its ADEVP, who brings a deep understanding of graduate theological education in the 21st century, a passion for innovative pedagogy, and an unwavering commitment to Brite’s vision of a world transformed by God’s love, mercy, and justice. The ADEVP is responsible for advancing Brite’s academic mission, overseeing a talented and distinguished faculty, and fostering an inclusive, engaging, and dynamic learning environment. The ADEVP will work collaboratively with faculty, students, administration, and the community to enhance academic programs, support scholarly research, and ensure the highest standards of graduate theological education.

About Brite Divinity School

Brite Divinity School is a premier progressive institution in graduate theological education. Located on the campus of Texas Christian University (TCU), Brite prepares leaders by focusing on excellent scholarship, pastoral training, and spiritual development through distinctive academic programs. The student body, faculty, and staff at Brite Divinity School are interracial, international, and ecumenical. While the largest numbers of students at Brite are Disciples of Christ and United Methodists, more than 20 different denominations are represented in the student body. Faculty and staff are active members in over ten different denominational/religious bodies. The ecumenical spirit is also strengthened by Brite’s membership and participation in the Council of Southwestern Theological Schools embracing 11 Protestant and three Roman Catholic institutions.

Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), with the next comprehensive accreditation visit set for spring of 2032, and by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), Brite Divinity School is one of four seminaries related to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the denomination’s only seminary related to a university. Brite is also approved by the United Methodist Church to teach United Methodist students preparing for ordained ministry.

As of Spring 2025, Brite enrolls 155 students, taught and advised by 13 exceptional faculty, with an additional two faculty searches opening in the Fall. Brite cultivates a welcoming and inclusive environment that affirms diverse identities, theological perspectives, and cultural traditions, encouraging dialogue and partnership with religious communities across traditions, fostering mutual understanding and shared ministry. Brite remains a pillar for social justice advocacy, actively engaging in issues of racial equity, LGBTQ+ inclusion, economic justice, and environmental sustainability.

Vision

A world transformed by God’s love, mercy, and justice

Mission

Brite Divinity School educates and inspires people to serve God’s diverse world as leaders in churches, the academy, and public life.

Integrated Core Values

Scholarship that engages churches, the academy, and public life; Justice that enhances diversity, flourishing, and wholeness; and Practice that enlivens intellectual, spiritual, and professional growth.

Role of Academic Dean and Executive Vice President

The Academic Dean and Executive Vice President (ADEVP) is a Board-elected Operating Officer who reports to the President. The ADEVP oversees the six degree programs, administrators, and faculty who relate to those programs of instruction. The ADEVP has responsibility for accreditation of the programs of instruction. The ADEVP also oversees the directors of lay and continuing education programs. The ADEVP supports efforts at Brite to diversify further the representation of scholars, staff, and students whose racial and cultural heritage is not European American, and to assist Brite in its efforts to become an anti-racist and multicultural organization.

The ADEVP serves as the chief academic officer, providing strategic leadership for the development and administration of Brite Divinity School’s academic programs. The ADEVP stewards the academic excellence and curricular assessment, faculty recruitment and development, and advancement of scholarly research and pedagogy. The ADEVP ensures the integrity of academic offerings, fosters a culture of inclusive excellence, and supports student formation and success. Additionally, the ADEVP collaborates with senior leadership on institutional planning, accreditation processes, and external partnerships to strengthen Brite’s position as a leading theological institution committed to justice, diversity, and ministerial leadership.

The ADEVP will lead the Dean’s office team, including the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and the Director of Technology Resources. The next ADEVP of Brite will join a community passionate about, and dedicated to, Brite’s success and will have the opportunity to bring visionary leadership, build upon the legacy and trajectory of the school in the modern theological educational landscape, and be embedded in a campus, church community, and region that is supportive, empowering, and engaging.

Opportunities and Challenges for the Academic Dean and Executive Vice President

• Bring visionary, strategic, and forward-focusing academic leadership to strengthen Brite: The new ADEVP will have the opportunity to steward and innovate Brite’s academic offerings and be a leader of collaboration and action who will foster continued momentum across programs, initiatives, scholarship, community impact, and student outcomes. The ADEVP will engage faculty and senior leadership in dialogue to identify and implement innovations and strategic improvements that ensure the education at Brite remains competitive, relevant, progressive, with a broad and global reach, and prioritizes the greatest potential of success for all graduates.

• Contribute significantly to the continued success of Brite at a point of momentum and growth: Working under Rev. Dr. Stephen Cady, who brings deep commitment, energy, and a hopeful spirit as President, the ADEVP will have the opportunity to embrace a collaborative leadership partnership. Driven by the President’s engaging, inspiring, and supportive vision, the ADEVP will be a vital thought partner and contributor, ensuring that Brite continues its positive momentum across enrollments, academic excellence, faculty development, student outcomes, service to the Church, and community impact. The ADEVP serves as staff liaison on the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees, attending Board meetings, and responding to opportunities to support the work of the Board. Additionally, the ADEVP will serve as a liaison to TCU, helping to strengthen a positive reciprocity between the two institutions.

• Foster a culture of trust, appreciation, and support across the current and future faculty: The ADEVP supports the development of members of the Permanent Faculty across all ranks and oversees faculty searches that deepen the distinction of the faculty as teachers and scholars. The ADEVP plays a pivotal role in attracting and retaining exceptional faculty who contribute to the institution’s academic excellence and mission. This includes leading future faculty recruitment efforts and identifying scholars whose research and teaching align with Brite’s commitment to theological inquiry, social justice, and ministerial formation. With a steady eye toward enhancing and sustaining strong faculty morale, the new ADEVP will serve as a champion for all faculty, illuminating their many achievements in teaching, research, and service to their disciplines, the Church, and the community. The ADEVP will foster an environment that supports faculty development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and inclusive excellence, ensuring that Brite remains a destination for top-tier theological educators and scholars.

• Modernize modalities and navigate change in the theological education landscape: As with many theological schools in recent years, Brite has recently implemented diversifications and expansions in its instructional modalities, including the addition of online degree offerings and programming. Balancing the desire for innovation while complementing the personalized culture at Brite, the new ADEVP will maintain the academic rigor and excellence in Brite’s offerings, while assessing and implementing diversified enrollment management strategies to bolster recruitment and retention of students. The new ADEVP will oversee faculty receiving the supportive infrastructure, technology, and training, to ensure modalities are successfully implemented, assessed for efficacy, and maintained.

• Champion Brite across theological education, the Church, the community, and the world: The next ADEVP of Brite must be able to communicate the uniqueness and value of Brite Divinity School as a destination for progressive theological education. The ADEVP will have the opportunity to contribute to the broad, purposeful, and impactful marketing of Brite, its academic offerings, the success of its faculty and staff, students, and alums, and its value and impact across theological institutions and seminaries. The ADEVP will help to ensure that Brite’s public perception and profile will inspire and continue to attract community members of the highest caliber. With an excellent foundation on which to build, Brite is eager to, and deserves to, have its reputation better known nationally and internationally. Brite’s next ADEVP will be a thought leader in theological education and will find ways to shine a light on Brite by contributing to important conversations about the evolving nature of theological education, the impact of the Church, and God’s role in humanity’s quest for meaning.

Desired Attributes for the Academic Dean and Executive Vice President

Brite Divinity School seeks an Academic Dean and Executive Vice President who will embrace its distinctive mission, be a passionate leader in theological education, embody a teacher-scholar spirit, demonstrate the depth and breadth of knowledge needed to successfully shape a contemporary seminary/divinity school, and consult with and contribute to Brite’s community with conviction and enthusiasm. The candidate of choice will be a compassionate leader with a highly relational approach, bringing outstanding communication skills, humility, authenticity, self-confidence, integrity of the highest order, a strong work ethic, and a clear understanding of graduate theological education and the Church.

The ideal candidate for the role of ADEVP will be a seasoned administrator who brings a proven track record for community-building, strategic leadership, and a collaborative approach to serving theological education. The new ADEVP will be a leader with a distinguished academic record who commands the respect of the scholarly community and merits appointment as a tenured professor at Brite Divinity School. Given Brite’s long-abiding connection to The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), membership in The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) denomination is preferred but not required.

The successful candidate will be:

• A faithful person and spiritual leader, committed to God, ecumenical Christianity, progressive theology, and the Church;

• An active member of a faith community, who brings deep commitment to fostering engagement, relationships, and collaborative leadership within the faith community;

• A visionary administrator who can build a strong and innovative learning environment that prioritizes academic quality, student success, experiential learning, community engagement, and global perspectives;

• A dedicated advocate for teaching excellence, professional development, and scholarly activity;

• An inclusive, balanced, accessible, and committed supporter of the principles of shared governance, transparency, and inclusive decision-making;

• An effective communicator with the many constituencies whose contributions are required for the success of Brite, including but not limited to administrators, faculty, staff, Board of Trustee members, alumni, donors, students, clergy, laity, and community partners;

• A champion of pedagogical strategies that enhance student learning structured by a student-centered approach to academic affairs;

• An experienced academic affairs leader with exposure to and knowledge of accreditation requirements, policies, and procedures across theological education;

• Deeply committed to building a community that celebrates diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice;

• A strong manager with exceptional budgetary and fiscal management skills and the ability to share financial information clearly and transparently;

• A gifted ambassador, with the ability to share Brite’s story and articulate the academic vision and successes to prospective students, faculty, donors, and community partners;

• Courageous in their ability to successfully balance the need for innovation while building community and empowering faculty and staff;

• And an energetic, optimistic, and resilient leader with good humor and a desire to provide respected, long-term leadership.

Contact

Storbeck Search l Diversified Search Group has been exclusively retained for this engagement, which is being led by Julie Tea, Managing Director, and Kate Phillips, Senior Search Associate. Submit a compelling cover letter and CV/resume by filling out our Talent Profile: Brite Divinity School – Academic Dean and EVP.

For nominations and inquiries, please contact: BriteAcademicDean@StorbeckSearch.com, all inquiries are strictly confidential.

Brite Divinity School is committed to providing a positive learning and working environment free from discrimination and harassment. TCU prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment and sexual violence), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ethnic origin, disability, genetic information, covered veteran status and any other basis protected by law, in the University's programs and activities as required by Title IX, Title VII, The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other applicable laws and regulations.