Appointments, promotions, and other faculty milestones announced

Jacqueline Vayntrub, Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible, has earned tenure. Dr. Vayntrub has been a dedicated member of our faculty since 2018, when she left her position as assistant professor at Brandeis University to join YDS. She is a specialist in the field of Hebrew poetry arguing that to understand the poetry of the Bible we should use emic rather than etic categories or the categories in Hebrew texts rather than Western texts. A prolific author, she has produced two major monographs: Beyond Orality: Biblical Poetry on its Own Terms (Routledge, 2019) and Body Language: Voice, Embodiment, and Textuality in the Hebrew Bible, Yale Anchor Bible Reference Library (forthcoming), twelve articles in major journals, and nine chapters in scholarly books. She is the co-editor of the Library of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies Series and a member of the editorial board of the International Critical Commentary Series—both major scholarly venues. As one of her evaluators said: “She is in short, a scholarly dynamo.” Another wrote: “I consider Jacqueline Vayntrub to be one of the most gifted and talented scholars of her generation.”

Jamil Drake was promoted from Assistant to Associate Professor. Dr. Drake is a historian of African-American religion in the US. His first book, To Know the Soul of a People: Religion, Race, and the Making of Southern Folk (OUP 2022) exposes the bias of sociologists who used the category of “Southern folk religion” to study Black communities in the South. His next book, To Know the Soul of a People: Religion, Race, and the Making of Southern, explores how Black religion influenced US health campaigns in the early 20^th century. In addition, he has produced two major articles and two book chapters and is a beloved instructor. One reviewer said: “Professor Drake has established himself as a top-tier scholar in his cohort … There is no doubt he is a rising star in the field.”

Kyama Mugambi was also promoted to Associate Professor. Dr. Mugambi joined YDS in 2022 after serving as the Editorial Manager of the African Theological Network Press (2018–2022) and as a Principal Investigator at the Nagel Institute (2021–2024). He is the author of A Spirit of Revitalization: Urban Pentecostalism in Kenya (Baylor, 2020) and co-author with Mark Shaw of Christians in the City of Nairobi (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025). In addition, he is the author of six articles and eleven chapters in scholarly publications. A beloved teacher, he is the first person whom we have hired who was fully trained in Africa. He is also unique because he helped to launch a new denomination. One of his evaluators wrote: “Mugambi is not just one of the many scholars exploring and analyzing this new phenomenon of the rapid growth of this new Christian religion in Africa, but in many ways, proving himself the thumb without which one cannot tie a knot (to use an African expression that portrays indispensability).”

I am delighted to welcome the acclaimed poet-theologian, Pádraig Ó Tuama, who has joined our faculty as Professor in the Practice of Spirituality and Poetry. He is the only person whom I have recommended for a faculty appointment who has the strong endorsement of a Pulitzer Prize winning poet and of a major rock star (The Edge of U2). His influence reaches across the board. Read more about Prof. Ó Tuama and his work here.

Gabrielle Thomas has officially begun her role as the Dean of Berkeley Divinity School at YDS and Professor in the Practice of Early Christian, Anglican, and Theological Studies. We welcome her with open arms as she returns to our community after serving as a tenured Associate Professor at Emory’s Chandler School of Theology and as Theologian-in-Community at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. She is an immensely popular teacher and a highly respected scholar.

I extend my deepest gratitude to Andrew McGowan who—over his twelve years of leadership as dean—led Berkeley through a time of extraordinary vitality and renewal. We are stronger because of his service, and I look forward to his continued contribution as a full-time member of the faculty.

I close with bittersweet news of the retirement of Mark Heim, Samuel Abbot Professor of Christian Theology of Andover Newton Seminary at YDS. Prof. Heim is one of the two Andover Newton faculty who joined us with Andover Newton. He has had an illustrious career as a theologian and teacher. A specialist in comparative theology, I will always remember his statement: “Since I am a follower of Jesus, I can immerse myself in other religions.” He worked this out in ten books and taught generations of students to do so, having now been affiliated with the Andover Newton for more than 50 years. He will transition to Emeritus status, maintaining close ties to the YDS community. We will miss Mark and Melissa!