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Stephen Fowl, Ph.D., dean of Loyola College, named president of Church Divinity School of the Pacific

Dressed in academic regalia, Loyola College Dean Stephen Fowl stands with President Terrence Sawyer in front of the Loyola University Maryland seal
Stephen Fowl, Ph.D., dean of Loyola College, stands with Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D., president of Loyola University Maryland, at the 2023 Commencement Exercises. (Photo by Sam Levitan)

Stephen Fowl, Ph.D., dean of Loyola College, will leave Loyola University Maryland to become president and dean of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. The Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California, announced today that Fowl will begin in the role later this year. Fowl will remain at Loyola through July 31, 2023.

A New Testament scholar and theologian, Fowl has served as dean of Loyola College, the University’s school of arts and sciences, since September 2018, after serving previously in the interim role since July 2017.

“Dean Fowl has been an influential leader at Loyola University Maryland, continuously advocating for the humanities, overseeing the expansion and investment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs, and bringing important insight to conversations about the intellectual life of our community,” said Cheryl Moore-Thomas, Ph.D., NCC, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We are grateful to Dean Fowl for his distinguished service to our University, and we are excited for him to take this incredible step and begin this wonderful new chapter.”

Fowl came to Loyola in 1989 as an assistant professor of theology, earned tenure in 1995, and was promoted to professor of theology in 2000. In 2001 he received Loyola’s Nachbahr Award for outstanding scholarly accomplishments in the humanities.

Prior to being named interim dean, Fowl served for 14 years as chair of the theology department, director of graduate studies, and chair of the Academic Senate.
Fowl has served in several leadership roles over the years, including most recently as co-chair of the presidential task force that is charged with initiating and guiding a university-wide examination of the University’s connections to slavery and its ongoing legacies.

Fowl earned his Bachelor’s in History with a minor in ancient languages from Wheaton College, his M.A. in Theological Studies from Wheaton Graduate School, and his Ph.D. from University of Sheffield in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Fowl is the seventh member of Loyola's Cabinet to be named the president of an institution of higher learning since 2014. The others are Marc Camille, Ed.D., president of Albertus Magnus College; Susan Donovan, Ph.D., president of Bellarmine University; Kathleen Getz, Ph.D., president of Mercyhurst University; Robert Kelly, Ph.D., president of University of Portland; Terrence M. Sawyer, J.D., president of Loyola University Maryland; and Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D., president of Loyola Marymount University.

Read the announcement by the Church Divinity School of the Pacific