Dean Jan Love has announced that Joanne Solis-Walker will join Candler as associate dean and professor in the practice of leadership, effective January 1, 2022. Solis-Walker will lead projects that expand access to Candler-based theological education, collaborating with congregations, denominations, and community organizations to ensure the school’s offerings meet their educational needs. She will also serve as a senior advisor to the dean on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Solis-Walker comes to Candler from Northwest Nazarene University, where she currently serves as special assistant to the president on diversity and associate professor of practical theology at the university’s College of Theology and Christian Ministry. She earned her master of divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary and her PhD in organizational leadership and development from Regent University.

Prior to her current role, Solis-Walker was assistant dean of global theological education and director of education for Latinos and Latinas at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University, and director of the Latino Latina Studies Program at Asbury Theological Seminary. She has also served as an adjunct professor at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University and Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. In addition to her work in academia, Solis-Walker is co-founder of and a coach/consultant at CaminoRoad, a development company that works alongside individuals and organizations seeking to increase their intercultural competence and diversity efforts. 

An ordained minister in The Wesleyan Church, Solis-Walker has been a pastor and church consultant in the denomination, as well as its chair of Spanish ministerial education and formation. She is a frequent speaker at theological institutions, universities, and churches both within the U.S. and globally. She is a member of Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana (AETH), Cooperación Misionera de Hispanos en Norte América (COMHINA), the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI), and a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

The Candler community will welcome her to campus in January.