CHICAGO- June 4, 2019  – Chicago Theological Seminary is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Dr. Heesung Hwang, children’s pastor, ordained deacon, author, and scholar, as visiting assistant professor of religious education. Dr. Hwang, who was awarded the prestigious Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship will begin her two-year appointment at CTS on August 1, 2019, and will be teaching both online and face-to-face courses.

“It is a great pleasure to welcome Dr. Hwang as the 2019-21 visiting assistant professor of religious education,” said Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, vice president of academic affairs and academic dean. “Dr. Hwang has an extensive background in Christian education, feminist studies, and multicultural worship. She will be a tremendous asset to our students and Seminary community alike.”

Hwang completed her doctoral studies and graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS) last month. Hwang was also awarded the Dr. Richard Ford Prize for Christian Education for her outstanding academic achievements during G-ETS Honors Chapel. Before joining the doctoral program at G-ETS, Hwang spent a significant amount of her religious educational career engaging in Korean American congregations as a children’s pastor and an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church in McLean and Centreville, Virginia, and Naperville, Illinois.

“It is a great honor to be selected as a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and to teach at Chicago Theological Seminary where the cutting-edge scholarship in theology and praxis is taking place,” said Hwang. “I look forward to contributing to its community with my scholarship and activism. I am eager to meet with students, challenge them, and raise leaders who transform their lives and many more lives in  their churches and communities, just as my teachers and spiritual mentors did for me.”

Hwang has published articles on Asian American studies, Christian education, and leadership development. Dr. Hwang’s research interests include: Christian education, developmental theories, identity formation, congregational studies, critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and postcolonial feminist theology.

Hwang holds a master of divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, a master of theology in Christian Education, and a bachelor in theology from Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea.