ANGELA DIENHART HANCOCK NAMED DEAN OF FACULTY
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has named the Rev. Dr. Angela Dienhart Hancock as the next vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty. The appointment will begin Jan. 1, 2023, and she will continue in her role as professor at PTS. Dr. Hancock will be installed as the Howard C. Scharfe Associate Professor of Homiletics later this fall.
“Dr. Hancock is the right leader for this time in the Seminary’s history,” said the Rev. Dr. Asa Lee, president and professor of theological formation for ministry. “She possesses all the necessary qualities to shape the future of theological education at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary as we continue forming students for service in the church and the community through expanded programs and modalities.”
The Rev. Dr. Angela Dienhart Hancock is an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and has served as pastor to churches in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Dr. Hancock is the author of Karl Barth’s Emergency Homiletic, 1932-33: A Summons to Prophetic Witness at the Dawn of the Third Reich, a contextual interpretation of Swiss theologian Karl Barth’s lectures on preaching in the early 1930s, based on unpublished archival material. Her current research explores Karl Barth’s contribution to the ethics of deliberation in Christian communities and the relationship between political and theological rhetoric. In addition to teaching courses on preaching, worship, theodicy, and cultivating Christian community, Dr. Hancock has exercised administrative leadership in a number of areas during her years at PTS, including the worship program, student learning outcomes assessment, and the current reaccreditation institutional self-study.
“I am excited to work with colleagues, seeking to foster educational excellence from this new vantage point in the institution,” Dr. Hancock said. “PTS is well-positioned to respond faithfully and creatively to the ongoing challenge of preparing leaders for the changing landscape of ministry today.”