Bill J. Leonard

James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and Professor of Church History, Wake Forest University

Bill J. Leonard is the James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and Professor of Church History at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., with appointments in both the divinity school and the department of religion.

He served as the founding dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity from May 1996 until June 2010. Before that, he was chair of the department of religion and philosophy, Samford University, Birmingham, Ala., from 1992 to 1996 and professor of church history at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky., from 1975 to 1992. An ordained Baptist minister, Leonard has served as interim pastor of more than 25 congregations in Kentucky, Indiana, Connecticut, Alabama and North Carolina.

Widely recognized for his work in American, Southern and Baptist religious studies, he is the author or editor of more than 20 books.