Dr. Darrell Gwaltney is stepping down as the dean of Belmont’s College of Theology and Christian Ministry at the end of the fall semester.
Gwaltney will be on sabbatical during the spring 2023 semester but will return to campus as a faculty member in fall 2023, according to a press release sent out Wednesday. He will teach classes in religion and mental health counseling.
Gwaltney signed on as dean in May 2004. Under his leadership, Belmont’s School of Religion was renamed the College of Theology and Christian Ministry.
“I have been deeply changed by my students and those with whom I have worked,” said Gwaltney in the release. “My faith and understanding of who I am vocationally has been enriched, deepened and improved by my colleagues’ profound faithfulness, kindness and creativity.”
This year, he helped establish an accredited doctorate program in mental health counseling at Belmont.
When Gwaltney began his position as dean, the School of Religion served around 1,900 students. Today, CTCM serves more than 4,000 students each year, the release said.
“The nearly two decades of commitment and devoted attention that Dr. Gwaltney has graciously invested as dean have been instrumental to the growth of the College, its programs and our goal of forming Christ-centered leaders,” said President Greg Jones in the release.
In addition to serving as a faculty member in the fall, Gwaltney will continue his work leading Project Thrive, the Moench Center for Church Leadership and the Academy of Preachers.
At the time of publication, an interim dean had not been named to take his place.
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PHOTO: Courtesy of the Belmont Office of Communications
This article was written by Madison Perry