Posted by William Nunnelley on 2007-02-21

Dr. Diana R. Garland, dean of the Baylor University School of Social Work, will present the second annual James A. Auchmuty Congregational Leadership Lecture at Samford University Tuesday, March 6. She will speak at 10 a.m. in Reid Chapel.

Dr. Garland is inaugural dean of the School of Social Work at Baylor, where she has served on the faculty since 1997. Previously, she was professor of social work at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where she was on the faculty for 17 years, and dean of the Carver School of Church Social Work.

She is the author or editor of 17 books and has published more than 70 professional articles and book chapters. Her latest books include Flawed Families of the Bible: How God Works through Imperfect Relationships, coauthored with her husband, Dr. David Garland, and Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families: Living the Faith Every Day. 

The Auchmuty Lecture was established in 2004 by Shades Crest Baptist Church in partnership with Samford's Resource Center for Pastoral Excellence. It honors the retired former pastor of Shades Crest Baptist Church, a Samford graduate. The resource center–part of the Samford in Mission program–sponsors lectures, seminars, workshops and sabbaticals and study leaves for pastors and congregational leaders.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.