Kenyatta Gilbert, Ph.D.

The Pro Ecclesia Medal of Service is awarded to individuals whose broad contributions to Christian ministry have made an immeasurable impact. This year’s Pro Ecclesia Medal of Service is awarded to Kenyatta Gilbert (B.A. ’96), Ph.D., Dean and Professor of Homiletics at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. 

 “It is humbling on a number of levels to receive this award,” Gilbert said. “As an alum, to return in this way and to be honored in this way by my peers who have served and continue to invest in Baylor's mission, I'm humbled by it. What I've learned over the course of time is that if you truly love God, then it ought to be expressed in the way in which you do your work in the world.” 

In addition to his Baylor degrees, Gilbert holds an M.Div. and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Gilbert is an ordained Baptist minister, and he has preached to congregations across the country and in Kenya. In 2006, he joined the faculty at Howard University, where, in 2011, he founded The Preaching Project, a transformative ministry dedicated to empowering ministers for effective service within African American churches and communities. In 2024, he was named Dean of the Howard School of Divinity. During his inaugural year, Gilbert was awarded a $1.25 million Compelling Preaching Initiative grant to launch programs on African American preaching at Howard. Gilbert also served as the Black Congregations Resource Center’s founding director at Howard University. 

 “Faithfulness can be the mark of your life,” Gilbert said. “That’s what I want to be said about me when I make my transition. That I was faithful, I was sincere, I understood my limitations, but I also understood that every day brings an opportunity to do better, to do more, to love better, to love more, to serve better, to serve more and to rest and reflect.”  

Among his many honors, Gilbert was inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College in 2022 and received the Diamond Award for Excellence in Leadership from the Not Alone Foundation, Inc. He also has received the Baylor Black Alumni Alliance’s Robert L. Gilbert Distinguished Alumni Award, named after his father, the Rev. Robert L. Gilbert (B.A. ’67) who was an influential educator, pastor and civil rights leader in Central Texas, as well as the first African-American student to graduate from Baylor University.