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President R. Guy Erwin is pleased to announce that the Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder and the Rev. Dr. Emilie M. Townes will receive from ULS the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, at the upcoming Commencement on May 9, 2025. Bishop Flunder will preach at the morning worship service and Professor Townes will offer remarks during the afternoon degree-granting ceremony.
Rev. Dr. Yvette Flunder, a native of San Francisco and a third-generation preacher, has dedicated herself to promoting justice and taking prophetic action for over three decades. Her mission to blend proclamation, worship, service, and advocacy for marginalized individuals in both the church and society led her to establish the City of Refuge United Church of Christ in 1991. In addition to her remarkable pastoral achievements, Rev. Dr. Flunder is characterized by her unwavering support for the LGBTQ+ community. As a leader and a trailblazer, she has played a pivotal role in advocating for LGBTQ+ rights within religious institutions and society, including her advocacy on the steps of the Supreme Court before the landmark decision granting Marriage Equality in 2015.
In 2003, Rev. Dr. Flunder became the Presiding Bishop of The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, a coalition comprising primarily African American Christian leaders and laity. Her leadership in this organization has been instrumental in promoting the inclusion and acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals within the African American Christian community. In 2015 she served on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and was one of five LGBTQIA faith leaders invited to participate in President Joe Biden’s inaugural prayer service in January 2021.
Bishop Flunder’s educational background includes a Certificate of Ministry Studies and a Master of Arts degree from the Pacific School of Religion, as well as a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. In 2022, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Chicago Theological Seminary. In 2024, Bishop Flunder was inducted into the 38th class of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers, Sponsors, and Collegium of Scholars. She is highly regarded in academic circles and serves as a DEMOS board member and Senior Fellow at Auburn Theological Seminary and Andover Newton Seminary. Bishop Flunder has served as an Adjunct Professor and guest speaker at various seminaries and universities, including Pacific School of Religion, Auburn, Brite Divinity, Chicago Theological, Columbia University, Drew, Duke, Eden, Howard, Lancaster, New York Theological, and Yale.
Besides her religious leadership roles, Bishop Flunder is an accomplished gospel music artist who has received awards for her work. Her passion for music is a testament to her ability to connect with people on a deeper level and inspire them through her artistry. Bishop Flunder is the author of "Where the Edge Gathers: A Theology of Homiletic and Radical Inclusion, "further showcasing her intellectual contributions to the field of theology and her commitment to promoting radical inclusion within religious discourse.
Bishop Flunder is a proud mother and grandmother, and recently celebrated 40 years of commitment and marriage to her partner in ministry and life - Ms. Shirley A. Miller, a renowned Gospel music artist.
Dr. Emilie M. Townes, an American Baptist clergywoman, is a native of Durham, North Carolina. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Religion in Society and Personality from Northwestern University. Dr. Townes was the Dean and University Distinguished Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society (Divinity) and University Distinguished Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies (College of Arts and Science) at Vanderbilt University, becoming the first African American to serve as Dean of the Divinity School from 2013-2023. She is the former Andrew W. Mellon Professor of African American Religion and Theology at Yale University Divinity School and in the fall of 2005, she was the first African American woman elected to the presidential line of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and served as president in 2008. She was the first African American and first woman to serve as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Yale Divinity School. She is the former Carolyn Williams Beaird Professor of Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Social Ethics at Saint Paul School of Theology.
Dr. Townes is editor of two collection of essays, A Troubling in My Soul: Womanist Perspectives on Evil and Suffering and Embracing the Spirit: Womanist Perspectives on Hope, Salvation, and Transformation; she has also authored Womanist Ethics, Womanist Hope, In a Blaze of Glory: Womanist Spirituality as Social Witness, Breaking the Fine Rain of Death: African American Health Issues and a Womanist Ethic of Care, and her groundbreaking book, Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil. She is co-editor with Stephanie Y. Mitchem of the Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life and co-editor with the late Katie Geneva Cannon and Angela Sims for the Womanist Theological Ethics: A Reader done with was published in November 2011. Her most recent co-editorship is with Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Alison Gise Johnson, and Angela Sims for Walking Through the Valley: Essays: Womanist Explorations in the Spirit of Katie Geneva Cannon (2022). Townes was elected a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009. She was the first Black woman to serve as president of the American Academy of Religion in 2008 and served a four-year term as president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion from 2012 to 2016. Townes was the first Black woman to serve as the president of the Society of Christian Ethics from 2024-2025. She is the founder of the Womanist Leadership Hub that seeks to be a networking hub for Black women activists, clergy, laity, organizers, scholars, and students to support the justice-oriented work they are engaged in. She joined the Boston University School of Theology faculty in 2024. (she, her, hers)
