Rev. Samuel Wells, a fourth generation pastor in the Anglican Church, will cross the Atlantic Ocean this August to begin his role as dean of Duke Chapel and chief spiritual figure on campus.
President Richard Brodhead announced his decision to appoint Wells Monday, after a selection committee conducted almost a six-month search for a candidate to replace former Dean William Willimon. The committee—chaired by Rev. Charles Smith, a member of the Board of Trustees—narrowed down an initial pool of 150 candidates, and Brodhead ultimately picked Wells, a Priest-in-Charge of St. Mark’s Church in Cambridge, England.
“His mixture of obvious intelligence, lived humanitarian service, and just the sort of air of spiritual passion he gives off made him seem perfect,” Brodhead said.
Smith said Well’s experience not only as a pastor and as a writer, but also as a community service leader in inner city areas made him an ideal candidate. Smith said he believes Wells embodies the University motto “eruditio et religio.”
“We think he will appeal to the life of the mind as well as to the life of the spirit,” Smith said.
The combination of intellectualism and spirituality that the selection committee found so compelling in Wells, was also a driving force behind Wells’ decision to come to the University.
“The position allows me to synthesize and combine my pastoral, preaching and writing interests more successfully than any position I can imagine,” said Wells, a graduate of Oxford University, Edinburgh University and University of Durham in the United Kingdom. “[Duke] is one of the most intellectual pockets in America.”
The University’s youthfulness was another incentive for Wells. He said Duke is “light on its feet and not bound by tradition.”
Wells said he is looking forward to continuing his research on theological ethics and working with esteemed faculty members such as Greg Jones, dean of the Divinity School, and Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe professor of theological ethics, and to forging a healthy yet critical friendship with the Divinity School.
“It will be a privilege to have the opportunity to teach in to me what is the most exciting Divinity school in America,” Wells said.
While Wells’ predecessor Willimon was noted for his progressive policies, Wells said the term “generous orthodoxy” describes the approach he will be taking with the Chapel rather than simply liberal or conservative, two labels he hopes to transcend.
Wells said he is committed to involvement in the Durham community as well as in the University community, as he believes it is important that Durham residents view Duke Chapel as a friend. He said he also hopes to excite the Chapel’s population, specifically by tapping the energy and passion of young people.
“To me Christianity must always be about passion, not about intellectual correctness or moral sobriety but passionate commitment,” said Wells, who will preach in the Chapel every Sunday. “The faith practiced in the Chapel is thrilling, and my job is to make sure it is.”
Wells will be accompanied by his wife, Jo Bailey Wells, who will be teaching in the Divinity School, and two young children.
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