New Assistant Chaplain & Assistant Director of Religious Life Announced
The Office of the University Chaplain and Religious Life (OUCRL) is excited to be welcoming a new colleague to our staff, beginning June 1, 2017. The Reverend Shantell Hinton will join our team as Assistant Chaplain and Assistant Director of Religious Life, furthering our mission as an office under the DOS Area of Social Justice and Identity.
Reverend Hinton is a native of Conway, Arkansas. She recently graduated with a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School where she was awarded the Kelly Miller Smith Institute for Black Church Studies Certificate, the Luke-Acts Prize, the Liston O. Mills Award, and the Florence Conwell Prize. She also attended Vanderbilt University and received a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and Colorado State University for a Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering, with a concentration in Controls and Robotics. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the National Society of Black Engineers. She has worked as a Process Control Engineer and as a Bible teacher for various organizations. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and serves as Worship Coordinator at New Covenant Christian Church in Nashville, TN.
Those who met and talked with Rev. Hinton while she interviewed for this newly-created position offered nothing but positive feedback about her academic, professional and ministerial qualifications. The phrase that often surfaced was that she is a “perfect fit” for a campus such as ours, having succeeded as a Vanderbilt undergraduate in a highly competitive STEM major. And now, as a VDS alumna with a focus in teaching, worship and youth ministry, we are confident that Rev. Hinton will be able to “hit the ground running” as the OUCRL prepares for the 2017-2018 school year.
More information will be forthcoming about an open house to welcome Rev. Hinton as she officially joins her Vanderbilt community of friends and peers.