PhD Student Outcomes

Forming the Next Generation of Scholars and Leaders

For decades, Fordham University's PhD Program in Theology has prepared graduates for meaningful careers in teaching, research, ministry, and intellectual leadership. Our alumni serve on the faculties of liberal arts colleges, Catholic universities, seminaries, and research institutions across North America, while others bring their theological expertise to churches, faith-based organizations, nonprofits, and public-facing ministries.

Their diverse paths reflect the breadth of a Fordham theological education—one grounded in rigorous scholarship and shaped by a commitment to faith, service, leadership, and engagement with the world. Whether contributing to the academy, the Church, or the broader public sphere, our graduates are applying their theological formation to questions that matter and helping to shape religious life and the common good.

The stories below offer just a glimpse of the many ways Fordham Theology alumni are making an impact. Together, they illustrate the distinctive possibilities of a Fordham PhD in Theology and the lasting contributions of our graduates to the Church, academy, and society.

  • Lynne Bahr, '17 PhD, was named Dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, an Episcopal seminary serving the Midwest. Her appointment reflects the growing influence of Fordham graduates across diverse Christian traditions and forms of theological formation.

  • Tim Dulle, '21 PhD, was appointed as Executive Director of the Jesuit Center at the University of Scranton, where he leads efforts to advance the institution’s Ignatian mission and Catholic identity across the university community. A historian of U.S. Catholicism and Jesuit higher education, Dulle represents a new generation of scholars bringing theological and historical expertise into positions of institutional leadership.

  • Dave de la Fuente, '24 PhD, recently returned to Fordham to teach a graduate course on Pope Francis. He now serves as Associate Director for Ignatian Young Adult Ministries, where he oversees the Contemplative Leaders in Action program, helping form young adults in leadership grounded in Ignatian spirituality, discernment, service, and engagement with the wider world.

  • Mary Kate Holman, '20 PhD, is a tenure track professor in the Religious Studies Department at Fairfield University. In her new book, Marie-Dominique Chenu: Catholic Theology for a Changing World, she demonstrates how Chenu’s once condemned theology influenced the major shifts of twentieth-century Catholicism, revealing the relevance of his thought for contemporary theology.

  • Brianne Jacobs, '17 PhD, earned tenure at Emmanuel College and published Holy Body: Gender and Sexual Difference in Theological Anthropology and Ecclesiology, advancing scholarly conversations on gender, embodiment, and ecclesiology.

  • Jukka Kääriäinen, '11 PhD, was appointed President of the North American Lutheran Seminary. As the leader of a major Lutheran theological institution, Kääriäinen joins a growing number of Fordham alumni shaping the future of theological education, ministerial formation, and ecclesial leadership across denominational lines. Together, these appointments underscore the ecumenical breadth of Fordham's doctoral program and the wide-ranging impact of its graduates in Christian communities throughout North America. 

  • Erin Lothes, '05 PhD, is a nationally recognized ecological theologian and was recently named Executive Director of the Bethany Center in New York's Hudson Valley. Under her leadership, the center continues its mission of ecological education, spiritual reflection, and environmental leadership formation. We were thrilled that Dr. Lothes served as a supervisor for several of our 2026 inaugural Theology and the Earth interns. 

  • Scott MacDougall, '13 PhD, was named director for theological resources for the Episcopal church.

  • Monica Pierce, '13 PhD, has served as Executive Director of Christian Churches Together since 2022, one of the nation's largest ecumenical organizations, bringing together Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Pentecostal communities for dialogue and common witness. 

  • Ashley Purpura, '14 PhD, is a tenured professor at Purdue University and continues to expand the field of Orthodox Christian studies through her scholarship, including a recent book examining women's roles and experiences within the Orthodox tradition. In February 2026, Fordham welcomed her back for a keynote lecture on Mary Magdalene.

  • Dan Rober, ‘13 PhD, is Chair of the Department of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University, and has emerged as one of the nation's most visible public intellectuals on questions surrounding the papacy and contemporary Catholicism. His expertise is regularly sought by media outlets and public audiences seeking informed commentary on developments within the Catholic Church.

  • Paul Schutz, '12 MA, '17 PhD, is a tenured member of the Theology Department at Santa Clara University, recently published A Theology of Flourishing: The Fullness of Life for All Creation, a significant contribution to contemporary theological discussions of human and ecological flourishing.

  • Rev. Meg Stapleton Smith, '22 PhD, is an Episcopal priest and instructor here with us at Fordham. Dr. Smith’s new book, Catholicism: End or Beginning?, brings to light a lost manuscript by the feminist theologian Mary Daly.

  • Jason Steidl Jack, '21, PhD, is a Teaching Professor at St. Joseph's University in New York and remains one of the country's leading Catholic voices on questions of faith, sexuality, and LGBTQ inclusion. Through his books, public scholarship, speaking engagements, and media appearances, he brings theological reflection into conversation with contemporary pastoral concerns.