Rev. Deborah K. Blanks
The Reverend Deborah K. Blanks, associate dean of religious life at Princeton University, opened Winston-Salem State University’s 2009-2010 James A. Gray “Religion and Ethics in 21st Century America” Symposia Series on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 9:45 a.m. in Dillard Auditorium of the Albert H. Anderson Conference Center.
Her lecture was on “Scandalous Grace: The Call of the Kingdom In the 21st Century.”
Blanks is a native of Mount Vernon, NY. She earned her bachelor of arts degree in political science from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, and a master of divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA.
She was among a select group of Navy Chaplains chosen to do post- graduate study during the 1989-90 academic year, and earned her master of theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ. For ten years Blanks served as an active duty United States Navy Chaplain. She was featured in Ebony and Jet magazines during her time in the Navy. Blanks was honorably discharged from the United States Naval Reserves at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Upon her return to the civilian world, Blanks accepted the position of assistant university chaplain at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Currently, she serves as associate dean of religious life at Princeton University. The scope of her work is liturgical, pastoral and sacramental. She serves as “pastor” to faculty, administrators, students and staff.
In April 2003, she was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta. In the October 2005 edition of Ebony magazine, Blanks was spotlighted as one of the eight African-American chaplains serving at Ivy League institutions. She is an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a member of the New Jersey Annual Conference.
As a soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Rev. Blanks is an integral part of many charitable initiatives. Chaplain Blanks served as president of the Association for College and University Religious Affairs, a national collegium of deans of religious life, chaplains, and directors and coordinators of religious affairs.
WSSU’s “Religion and Ethics in 21st Century America” lecturers will all speak at 9:45 a.m. in Dillard Auditorium. Other noted lecturers in the series include:
- Reverend Dr. William C. Turner, Jr., associate professor for the practice of homiletics at Duke University, on Thursday, Nov. 12;
- Reverend Dr. Noel L. Erskine, professor of theology and ethics at the Chandler School of Theology at Emory University, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010; and,
- Reverend Lawrence E. Aker, III, senior pastor of the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY, Thursday, April 1, 2010.
Sponsored by the James A. Gray Endowment and Winston-Salem State University, the lecture series is designed to spark thought-provoking discussion about some of the most pressing moral and ethical considerations of our time. Dr. Cedric S. Rodney is James A. Gray Professor of Religion and Ethics at WSSU and the program coordinator. For more information about the lecture series, contact Dr. Rodney at 336-750-2479 or e-mail him at rodneycs@wssu.edu.
