Divinity school names associate dean

Shonda R. Jones has been named associate dean of admissions and student services at the School of Divinity. Jones will also serve as special assistant to the provost in the Office of the Provost.

“Shonda Jones is one of the most respected and talented admissions professionals in theological education today. Her expertise, creativity, and energy have brought her a great record of achievement from which the School of Divinity will now benefit as it continues to grow,” said Gail O’Day, dean of the School of Divinity.

“The work I do in admissions is inspiring and rejuvenating, as I work with people who are discerning a call to ministry,” Jones said. “Many want to explore their call to serve in new and various ways. At Wake Forest University School of Divinity, I am excited to be a part of an innovative place where community and faithfulness are central to ministry in any setting.”

Before coming to Wake Forest, Jones served as associate dean of admissions and student services at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. Prior to her appointment at Emory in 2003, Jones served in a similar position at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. She was also a minister at St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church in Dallas.

Before her work in theological education, Jones was Coordinator of Minority Outreach and Coordinator of Care Teams at AIDS Interfaith Network of Tarrant County in Texas and worked as a volunteer coordinator with Fort Worth Area Habitat for Humanity.

Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s of divinity degree from Texas Christian University.

Her areas of interest include womanist theology, ethics, culture, and church and society. She is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.

— by Cheryl Walker (’88), Office of Communications and External Relations