Gammon Names Dr. Candace L. Lewis as New President-Dean

Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Gammon Theological Seminary, has announced the election of Dr. Candace L. Lewis as the President-Dean of Gammon. She will begin her tenure on April 1, 2021.

An extensive search began June 15, 2020, with the assistance of The General Council on Finance and Administration’s UMCSupport. Through a rigorous exercise of process development and identification of attributes and competencies desired for the position of President-Dean, the search culminated in Dr. Lewis’ selection and election.

Dr. Lewis will be Gammon’s first female President-Dean and the first female denominational Dean in the ITC consortium, ushering in a new chapter at Gammon and for the ITC community.

“We are excited for this historic milestone. The Board of Trustees is committed to Gammon and its continuing witness.  We pledge our support to Dr. Lewis and offer a spirit of collegiality as together we embrace the present and the future at ‘The School of the Prophets’” says Dr. Mackie H. Norris, chair of the search committee.

Dr. Lewis is an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church. From 1997-2009, Dr. Lewis was appointed as the founding pastor of the New Life Community UMC in Jacksonville, Florida. She was then appointed as the Associate General Secretary in the New Church Starts Division and later as the Executive Director of Path1 New Church Starts at the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tennessee. She comes to Gammon after serving as a District Superintendent for 4 years in the Florida Conference. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and Gammon Theological Seminary – ITC where she received her Master of Divinity degree in May 1996. In June 2000, she graduated from the Harvard Divinity School’s Summer Leadership Institute on Faith-Based Community Economic Development. She earned a Doctorate in Ministry in Church Leadership Excellence from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. May 2014.

“I am ready to begin my tenure as the 17th President and Dean of my alma-mater, Gammon Theological Seminary. God has entrusted me with innovative, visionary, strategic leadership at this critical time. I look forward to leading and partnering with Gammon’s current and future students, staff, and Board of Trustees while simultaneously creating new, collaborative partnerships. TOGETHER, we will lead Gammon into a prosperous future," said Dr. Candace L. Lewis

Gammon Theological Seminary is the United Methodist constituent seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center, a consortium of five seminaries in Atlanta. Gammon was founded in 1883 and remained an independent entity until it joined in the formation of the ITC in 1958.