Asbury Theological Seminary announces Dean for the School of Urban Ministries

Dr. Leslie A. Andrews, Provost, is pleased to announce the appointment of Zaida Maldonado Perez, Ph.D. as the Dean of the School of Urban Ministries on the Florida Dunnam campus of Asbury Seminary.   She will be the inaugural dean of the fifth school at Asbury Seminary.

Perez has most recently been professor of Church History and Theology at Asbury Seminary. She received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, 1980; an M.Div. from Eden Theological Seminary, 1993; and a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University, 1999. Perez came to Asbury Seminary in 2002 after serving as director of Hispanic Theological Initiative at Princeton Theological Seminary. She has taught at Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, Candler School of Theology and Saint Louis University. She has books published in English, Spanish and Portuguese, and has three books in progress. 

Dr. Perez is a member of the American Society of Church History, the American Academy of Religion and has been deeply involved in the Asociación para la Educación Teológica Hispana (The Association for the Theological Education of Hispanics). 

Dr. Perez is married to the Rev. Luis A. Perez, a military chaplain. They have two grown children.

The School of Urban Ministries brings greater clarity and focus to the work of Asbury’s Florida faculty and staff and will enable the Seminary to prepare students for ministry in a global context.

Dr. Andrews says, “Zaida’s excellent scholarship, her extensive involvement in the Latina/o community, her high regard among colleagues, and her commitment to Asbury Seminary and its mission position her very favorably to provide strong academic leadership as Dean of the School of Urban Ministry on the Florida Dunnam campus.”