Husband & Wife Scholars Join Truett & Baylor Faculty

November 22, 1996

by Brenda Tacker

WACO, Texas - Drs. David E. and Diana R. Garland have been hired by Baylor University and will become members of the faculty in fall 1997.
"The Garlands will be a tremendous asset to Baylor University with their combined years of experience, leadership and scholarship," said Dr. Brad Creed, dean of Truett Seminary. "David enjoys a reputation as a gifted classroom teacher and also brings to us years of work with Baptists in theological education. He has demonstrated his clear commitment to preparing men and women for the ministry. Our faculty, staff and students welcome him and look forward to working with him."
David Garland, currently the Ernest and Mildred Hogan Professor of New Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., is a recognized New Testament Scholar, best known for his work on the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. He has served as a professor at Southern since January 1977 and before that as an instructor in Greek as a graduate student. He also has served as a Visiting Professor of New Testament at Morling College, The Baptist Theological Seminary of New South Wales, and has lectured in various colleges and universities. He frequently serves as an interim pastor as well as leads revivals and teaches Bible studies in numerous churches.
A widely published author, he recently completed a commentary on the Gospel of Mark, and he is under contract to complete commentaries on 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians and Colossians and Philemon. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Review and Expositor, Novum Testamentum, Interpretation, Theology Today and Religious Studies Review. He is a member of the Society of New Testament Studies, Institute of Biblical Research and on the board of advisers for the Dead Sea Scroll Foundation.
David Garland, whose grandparents and parents had served as missionaries to India, completed a bachelor of arts degree at Oklahoma Baptist University after attending the United States Naval Academy for two years. He holds master of divinity and doctor of philosophy degrees from Southern. He has done post graduate studies with Professors Otto Betz, Peter Stuhlmacher and Martin Hengel at Eberhard Karls Universität in Tübingen in 1984-85 and with Prof. Edwin Judge at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia 1991-92.
Diana Garland previously served as Dean of the Carver School of Church Social Work at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where she was a member of the social work faculty for 16 years. "Dr. Garland is one of the top people in the United States in the field of church social work," said Dr. Preston Dyer, professor of sociology and social work and director of the social work division at Baylor. "She is an excellent teacher, researcher and scholar. Additionally, she brings years of experience as a consultant with Baptist agencies."
One of her foremost duties when she arrives at Baylor will be helping to develop a proposed school of social work. No other accredited social work program in the United States currently has a church social work specialization. Such a school of social work will allow social work professionals to obtain their education within a Christian environment and to choose a specialization that will provide expertise to work with congregations and church agencies.
Diana Garland currently serves as director of the Family Ministry Research Project at Louisville Seminary. She has taught social work and family ministry courses in several institutions as a visiting professor. As a social worker, she has for several church-related family and children's services agencies. She frequently serves as a consultant to congregations and church agencies in the development of family ministries, and she leads parent education and marriage enrichment workshops and seminars. Garland is author, co-author or editor of 14 books and has published more than 40 professional articles. She is currently the editor of The Journal of Family Ministry. She also is the author of Precious in His Sight, which is being used as a text for the Womens Missionary Union's PROJECT HELP: Child Advocacy. Baptists also will know her as one of the authors of the Parenting by Grace and Covenant Marriage courses.
For more information, call Truett Seminary at (817) 755-3755 or Baylor's Department of Sociology at ( 817) 755-1165.