Bishop E. T. Dixon Lecture
In the January 2008, the Center of Religious Life and Campus Ministry instituted the Bishop Ernest T. Dixon Lecture. The lecture was named after the late Bishop Ernest T. Dixon, the first African American Bishop and only to date named to the Southwest Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. Bishop Dixon is also a graduate of Huston-Tillotson University and prior to his retirment, served on the institution’s Board of Trustees.
First Lecture – Reverend Dr. Cain Hope Felder
Our guest speaker for the first Bishop Ernest T. Dixon Lecture was the Reverend Dr. Cain Hope Felder, Professor of Old Testament Studies, at Howard School of Divinity in Washington, D.C., and the author of several well known books, among those being “Stony the Road We Trod” and many others.
Reverend Dr. Felder engaged a small select student group along with selected faculty and staff in a luncheon prior to his lecture. Dr. Felder also addressed the Austin Area Interfaith Ministries while visiting Huston-Tillotson University.
Second Annual Lecture – Reverend Marilyn E. Thornton
Rev. Marilyn E. Thornton addressed “Singing, Telling, Writing the Story: African American/Biblical Connection.” Her words utilized the bible, songs, poetry and stories to create a path from the past to the present in educating the audience about how the African American heritage that informed and enriched 21st century life and spirituality.
Thornton is a musician, storyteller, educator, and pastor who loves to tell the story of God’s salvation for all people using various media.
Third Annual Lecture – Dr. Valerie Bridgeman
Dr. Bridgeman is an interdisciplinary scholar who works in the fields of bible, practical theology (preaching and worship), hermeneutics, cultural criticism, and the arts. She is an accomplished and published poet, as well as a performance artist. She received her Ph.D. in biblical studies (OT concentration) and minor in ethics from Baylor University. She currently serves as associate professor of Hebrew Bible, Homiletics and Worship, and Scholar in Theology and the Arts at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. She got her start as a professor at Huston-Tillotson University in the 1990s
The 2010 Lecture topic was, “Hip Hop and the Preacher: A Cultural Reading of the book of Ecclesiastes.”
