Dr. Joretta Marshall serves as Executive Vice President and Dean of Brite Divinity School in Forth Worth Texas. She has previously taught at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, Iliff School of Theology, and Eden Seminary, where she was also Academic Dean. In addition to serving as Dean, Dr. Marshall is Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care as well as Director of the Carpenter Initiative in Gender, Sexuality, and Justice. As Director, she works with students, churches and communities to promote reconciling conversations and training around sexual orientation and gender identity. She is also trained as a Pastoral Counselor and is a Diplomate in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors where she served as President from 2008-2010.
President Newell Williams, who chaired the search committee that recommended Dr. Marshall, offers this: “She fully combined the qualities we were seeking. Dr. Marshall has a gift for helping diverse groups come together, capable of making difficult decisions, a model of the teacher-scholar ideal that we have for all members of the Brite faculty, and exhibits integrity in all relationships.” After serving in leadership with Dr. Marshall over these years, President Williams also noted: “She continues to live up to these high expectations and Brite faculty, students, staff, and the congregations and other organizations that Brite students and graduates serve, benefit from her leadership.”
When reflecting on her six years as Dean at Brite, Dr. Marshall remarked: “Brite’s commitments to ecumenism and justice are apparent in the selection of me as the Executive Vice President and Dean. I am ordained in the United Methodist Church and am a life-long member of that tradition. I am also openly partnered with a woman, committed to the justice work of theological education around anti-racism and the dismantling of hate, and I bring a deep commitment to these values in my work as Dean.”
Dr. Marshall has published a number of books, including Pastoral Care in Rural Congregations (with Shannon Jung and Jeanne Hoeft), Counseling Lesbian Partners, How Can I Forgive?, and Forgiveness and Abuse: Jewish and Christian Reflections (with Marie Fortune). She has also published articles in many professional and church-related journals.
Dr. Marshall earned a Bachelor of Arts from Westmar College, a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology, and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from Vanderbilt University Divinity School.