Seminary of the Southwest recently announced that the Rev. Teresa L. Fry Brown, PhD, is the 2026 McDonald Teaching Award recipient. Dr. Fry Brown is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (2022-present) and Bandy Professor of Preaching (2015-present) at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She will receive the award on Monday, March 9, 2026 at the midday Eucharist service and assembly in Christ Chapel on the campus of Seminary of the Southwest.
Established upon the retirement of Dean Emeritus the Very Rev. Durstan R. McDonald in 2002, the McDonald Teaching Award is given each year by the Faculty of Seminary of the Southwest in recognition of exceptional teaching in the spirit of the award’s namesake. Dr. Fry Brown was nominated for this year’s award by Rev. Dr. Dominique Robinson, Assistant Professor of Preaching at Southwest.
“Dr. Fry Brown represents the very best of homiletical scholarship and pastoral formation,” shared Dr. Robinson. “As someone who has benefited from her mentorship, I’m especially grateful to celebrate this recognition of her impact and to welcome her into our shared learning space.”
In addition to receiving the award, Dr. Fry Brown will guest lecture during Dr. Robinson’s Intertextual Preaching course on Monday, March 9th.
Additionally, Dr. Fry Brown served as the fourteenth Historiographer, the editor of the A.M.E. Review, Executive Director of Research and Scholarship (2012-2024), and President of the General Officers’ Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (2021- 2024). Dr. Fry Brown was Director of Black Church Studies at Candler (2007-2015). Dr. Fry Brown obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Religious and Theological Studies from the Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver, with an emphasis in Religion and Social Transformation (1996). She earned a Juris Master’s from Emory University School of Law (2025), a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology (1988), a Master of Science degree (1975), and a Bachelor of Science degree (1973) in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri.
Dr. Fry Brown has extensive teaching and preaching experience in national, international academic, and ecumenical settings. A prolific author, Dr. Fry Brown’s books include Delivering the Sermon: Voice, Body and Animation in Proclamation, Fortress Press (2008); Can A Sister Get a Little Help: Advice and Encouragement for Black Women in Ministry, Pilgrim Press (2008); God Don’t Like Ugly: African American Women Handing on Spiritual Values Abingdon Press (2000); Weary Throats and New Song: Black Women Proclaiming God’s Word Abingdon Press (2003) and the African American History Devotional, Abingdon Press (2006). Additionally, she has published sixty other reviews, chapters, and commentaries.
The midday service where Dr. Fry Brown will be presented with the McDonald Award is open to the public, and will be livestreamed at the ssw.edu website and the Southwest Facebook page.
