Category Archives: Interviews, Profiles, Meet & Greet

Profile: Elizabeth Rice Achtemeier

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AchtemeierToday women biblical scholars can easily get lost in a crowd of male colleagues. How much more so in 1959 when Elizabeth Rice Achtemeier graduated with a Ph.D. in Old Testament from Columbia University? In her memoir Not Till I Have Done, she writes: “In one sense, the life of a woman in academia is a lonely calling. There are not many other women who share my theological journey and work” (116). But follow that calling she did, successfully teaching for thirty-seven years and publishing twenty books.

Achtemeier was fortunate to grow up in a household where her gender was not deemed a limitation. She grew up the only girl in a neighborhood of more than twenty boys and gladly participated in all their sports and games. From her father she learned she could accomplish anything she desired. From her mother she inherited an inquisitive mind. When Achtemeier attended seminary her mother borrowed and read all the textbooks. Not only did Achtemeier have an upbringing that supported her academic pursuits, but she also felt accepted in the male dominated world of the academy–for the most part:  More→

Interview: Donyelle McCray

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DMcrayDr. Donyelle McCray is Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Office of Multicultural Ministries at Virginia Theological Seminary. McCray earned her B.A. from Spelman College, J.D. from Harvard Law School, M.Div. from VTS, and Th.D. from Duke University Divinity School.

How did you decide to become a biblical scholar? Share your autobiographical journey.

While I was in seminary my church history professor asked me if I had considered doing doctoral work.  At the time I felt overwhelmed and was just focused on getting through the semester but the thought lingered.  Then, during my senior year I went on a retreat at the Bon Secours Convent in Marriottsville, MD and felt the Holy Spirit inviting me to ‘pray about teaching preaching.’  It was an unusual phrase and I was struck by how odd it was. I had not considered teaching preaching prior to that moment.  The desire grew from that time.   More→