WFU Divinity School graduates second class

School of DivinityThe Wake Forest University Divinity School, which was founded in 1999 and offers the master of divinity degree in an ecumenical full-time program, granted degrees to the second class in school history this year.

Twenty students, representing six different states and Nigeria, comprised this year’s graduating class. Four of the students, Willard Wyatt Bass Jr. of Fayetteville, Tacuma Samori Johnson and Linda Perkins McRae both of Winston-Salem, and Michelle Renee Meggs of New York, N.Y., represent the school’s first African-American graduates. Additional graduates include:

  • Brian Dwight Ammons of Raleigh, N.C.
  • David Jason Brewer of Knoxville, Tenn.
  • Robilyn Gayle Byrd of Richardson, Texas
  • Heather Michelle Cronk of Lexington, Ky.
  • Jason Andrew Daugherty of Crossville, Tenn.
  • Joshua Matthew Kalohe Goocey of Maryville, Tenn.
  • Margaret Kenny Leinbach of Charlotte, N.C.
  • John Milton Martin III of Martinez, Ga.
  • Laura Elizabeth Grace Mayo of Nashville, Tenn.
  • Daniel Brian Miles of Johnson City, Tenn.
  • Simon Kehinde Osunlana of Ibadan, Nigeria
  • Kristi Mills Rolison of Winston-Salem, N.C.
  • Mark Alan Sandlin of Greensboro, N.C.
  • Jonelle Corinne Simmons of Raleigh, N.C.
  • Rebecca Joy Byrd Terry of Winston-Salem, N.C.
  • Martha Buie Tyson of Durham, N.C.

The three-year master of divinity degree program at Wake Forest offers a curriculum that includes instruction in traditional seminary subjects like biblical studies, church history, theology, homiletics (the art of preaching), spirituality and pastoral care taught by full-time Divinity School faculty.

Because the school is set within the larger context of the university, students are also able to study under other Wake Forest faculty. Divinity students have taken courses in the religion and classics departments, at the School of Law and in Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s Clinical Pastoral Education program.

In addition to the traditional curriculum, the Divinity School offers a unique vocational development component that requires intensive participation through all three years of study. The program provides a series of professional development activities and opportunities for reflection on the ministry. Through this component, students work in a church or other ministry setting and are paired with mentors in the community.

For more information about the Divinity School, visit its Web site at www.wfu.edu/divinity.

Categories: School of Divinity, University Announcement