Joel Brown to DCHS president
2022 PhD graduate Joel Brown has been called as the next President of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society (DCHS), effective September 1. He is particularly suited for its leadership at this moment. Brown prizes the importance of history in shared life, and he relishes the place of archival work in telling and writing history. He looks forward to contributing to “the important work that DCHS has been doing of preserving and telling our history, both lifting up those narratives that tell of our movement’s faithfulness and achievements as well as reckoning with those parts of our story where we have fallen short and caused harm.”
His PhD dissertation, advised by Curtis Evans, is titled, Preparing the Way: African American Women and Social Christianity in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago. He also holds a ThM from Brite Divinity School and MDiv and BA degrees from Abilene Christian University. During his years as a House Scholar, Joel served as DDH’s associate for publications and programming and did a stint as the interim administrator. He was formerly the managing editor for the Martin Marty Center's biweekly publication, Sightings, and of the Religion & Culture Forum.