The Campbell Divinity School
celebrated the installation of Andrew Wakefield as dean at the commissioning
service for new students Sept. 14.
Wakefield becomes only the
second dean to lead the Divinity School since its founding in 1996. At that
time there were 35 students enrolled in the founding class. Today, 220 students
attend Campbell Divinity School.
In his inaugural remarks, Campbell
President Jerry Wallace praised the performance of Michael Cogdill, the
Divinity School’s first dean, saying that Cogdill, Campbell founder Archibald
Campbell and Professor of Theology Charles Howard were three “wonderful men of
God who wrote large on Campbell’s tradition of excellence.”
Photo by Bennett Scarborough Andrew Wakefield, right, is installed as the new dean of the Campbell Divinity School by President Jerry M. Wallace. |
“Dr. Wakefield, I want to
affirm to you and everyone here that you are qualified to lead this divinity
school and that the same qualities of these three great leaders reside in you,”
Wallace said. “Everyone who has ever sat in Andy’s class has been inspired by
his passion for teaching and Christian leadership. I know you will provide
outstanding guidance and vision for the Divinity School, and you will have the
support of all who love Campbell University.”
Andrew Wakefield has served
on the Divinity School faculty since 1997, most recently as associate professor
of New Testament and Greek. In 2008, he was appointed to the Lewis Edward and
Martha Barnes Tyner Chair of Bible and was recognized with the Dean’s Award for
Excellence in Teaching in 2003. He is the author of numerous publications and
has served on the board and as the associate editor for the Review &
Expositor, a consortium Baptist theological journal.
Wakefield grew up in
Southeast Asia, the son of missionaries. He earned a bachelor of arts from Wake
Forest University and a master of divinity from Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary. He earned a Ph.D. in New Testament at Duke University. He has served
as the interim pastor of eight churches and is a frequent preacher, Bible study
teacher and retreat leader in churches across North Carolina.