
Professor Stefana Dan Laing has been appointed to lead the Center for Women in Ministry at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School.
Laing, who joined Beeson’s faculty in 2018, brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and hopes to use her academic network to bring in ministerial and academic speakers for future events.
Laing also leads the school’s women’s theological colloquium. She is the third director in the center’s history. Established in 2021, the center hosts multiple events per year, a biannual conference and provides numerous resources to aid women called to serve the Lord in ministry, including Beeson students, alumni and women who may already be serving in ministry.
"I'm honored to be entrusted with the leadership of the Center for Women in Ministry and for the opportunity to continue to promote its vision ‘to encourage and equip women called to Christian ministry,’” Laing said. “This vision was set by its founder Kristen Padilla and was ably stewarded by Anna Russell subsequently. I firmly believe in empowering and resourcing God-called women who desire to be theologically educated to serve the church to the best of their ability. We want them to flourish in ministry, investing their whole gifting into their vocation."
Beeson Dean Douglas A. Sweeney said Laing’s experience will aid the center going forward.
“We are thrilled that one of our own beloved faculty members has taken the reins of the Center for Women in Ministry,” Sweeney said. “Dr. Laing will lend many years of professorial and scholarly experience and wisdom to the center and its work. We are all excited to see how God will use her to take the center to the next level of fruitfulness and effectiveness.”
The center partners with programs and colleagues across the Samford campus, including the women’s theological colloquium, the Beeson Alumni Association, Beeson’s Thriving Pastors Initiative, Beeson’s Robert Smith Jr. Preaching Institute, Beeson’s Student Government Association and Minority Student Fellowship, the Biblical and Religious Studies department, the Christian Ministry program, and the Center for Worship and the Arts.