D. Newell Williams has been President and Professor of Modern and American Church History of Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University since 2003. He co-edited with Douglas A. Foster, Paul M. Blowers and Anthony L. Dunnavant, The Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004). He is the author of Barton Stone: A Spiritual Biography, (St. Louis, Mo. Chalice Press, 2000). He also edited A Case Study of Mainstream Protestantism: The Disciples' Relation to American Culture, 1880-1989, (Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991). He has contributed numerous articles and chapters of books which such titles as, "Christianity in Twentieth Century America: Implications for the Twenty-First Century" (Encounter 63:3, Summer 2002, 247-261)and "Overcoming a Liberal-Conservative Divide: The Commission on Restudy of the Disciples of Christ," (in Christian Faith Seeking Historical Understanding: Essays in Honor of H. Jack Forstman, ed. James O. Duke and Anthony L. Dunnavant, Macon: Mercer University Press, 1997, 246-276).

Dr. Williams is an Ordained Minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); a member of the American Academy of Religion, the American Society of Church History, the Association of Disciples for Theological Discussion, and the Stone-Campbell Dialogue. He holds a Ph.D. (1979) and M.A. (1975) from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. from University of Tulsa (1971). He is married to the Rev. Sue McDougal, and they are the parents of three children. Early in his academic career, Dr. Williams served Brite as Assistant Professor of Church History and as Assistant (1978-1983) and later Associate Dean (1983-1984). From 1984 - 2003 he taught at Christian Theological Seminary, where he served as Vice President and Dean from 1992 - 1998.