The Rev. Dr. Kenyatta R. Gilbert, a nationally recognized scholar and author of four books on social justice and homiletics, will be installed Saturday as the dean of the Howard University School of Divinity.
Gilbert, named to the position in June, will officially replace Dr. Yolanda Pierce, who began serving as the new dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School in July.
“The entire Howard University community is proud to welcome Dr. Gilbert to his new position as dean of the School of Divinity. His 17 years of dedicated service to the university has prepared him well in addressing the needs of our students and leading the School of Divinity into the future,” said former Howard President Wayne A.I. Frederick in a statement in June. “I also want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Yolanda Pierce for her contributions as the first female dean of the School of Divinity for the past six years. ”
Gilbert came to Howard as an adjunct professor in 2006 and has continued to blossom as a theologian, preacher and civil rights and social justice leader. He has been featured in media outlets that include PBS NewsHour, Sojourners, Word & Way, Religion Dispatches, and The Conversation.
“I felt a real strong sense of calling to come to Howard because there was an element of unexpectedness,” Gilbert told The Informer. “I was taking the train to Union Station from the Northeast every Friday to teach a course and after 13 weeks a full-time position came open. They had a full search and the next thing you know I was offered an assistant professor position on a tenured track.”
Journey to Dean
The journey to dean of Howard’s School of Divinity has required a lot of hard work and balancing. From teaching while working on his doctorate to serving as an assistant pastor of Peoples Community Baptist, and being a father of three daughters, Gilbert’s career has given him a heart to recruit and develop a new generation of pastors and faith leaders around the world.
Gilbert comes from a legacy of educational greatness. His father is Baylor University’s first African American graduate, the Rev. Robert Gilbert, and his mother Mrs. Elwayne Y. Gilbert is an alumna of Paul Quinn College.
Gilbert earned his bachelor’s in political science from Baylor University in 1996 and then attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned both a master of divinity and doctorate of philosophy degrees in practical theology, specializing in homiletics.
He was ordained as a Baptist minister and preached at congregations in Texas, his home state, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Kenya. He is the author of “Exodus Preaching: Crafting Sermons about Justice and Hope,” “A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights,” “The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching” and “Just Living: Meditations for Engaging our Life and Times.”
He has been married for more than 25 years to Dr. Allison Blow Gilbert, a pediatrician, and together they have three daughters, Olivia, Ella and Ava.
In 2011, Gilbert founded The Preaching Project, a transformative ministry dedicated to empowering ministers for effective service within African American churches and communities.
He serves as the director of the Black Congregations Resource Center at Howard University and the general editor of the Preaching, Theology and Culture book series published by Fortress Press.
Gilbert is also a member of the editorial board of homiletics, a peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the Academy of Homiletics. He also has been inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College in 2022.
Most recently he was awarded the Diamond Award for Excellence in Leadership from the Not Alone Foundation.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Gilbert said another one of his other goals is to connect with the community at large.
On Sunday, Feb. 11, he preached at the Washington National Cathedral during HBCU Day, where he preached a sermon “Hate what is evil and cling to what is good,” inspired by the New Testament Scripture Romans 12:9.
“My mission is to have a diverse student population,” Gilbert told The Informer. “Right now we are senior heavy. I want to prepare [a new generation] of ministers to enter Black churches that are fiscally astute.”
Gilbert told The Informer he also wants to raise money to offer scholarships for potential students who often are lured by “white conservative” schools, not because of a faith tradition, but because they are often more affordable.
He also has global goals for Howard’s program.
“Right now we have no Africa education program,” he said. “There is no internship program so there is just an abundance of opportunity.”
Noting the importance of Howard School of Divinity, Gilbert said he is looking forward to serving in his new role.
“Theological education matters. It always has and always will. So, I am humbled and excited by the privilege to serve as the next dean of the world’s preeminent historically Black theological school,” said Gilbert.