CURRICULUM VITAE
THOMAS EDWARD FRANK
UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR
CHAIR, DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
Tribble Hall B-114
1834 Wake Forest Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27106
2010 – present
PREVIOUS POSITIONS
Professor of Religious Leadership and Administration
Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
1987 – 2010
Assistant Professor of Congregational Life, Eden Theological Seminary
St. Louis, Missouri, 1986-1987
Senior Minister, University United Methodist Church
St. Louis, Missouri, 1984-1986
Associate Minister, Missouri United Methodist Church
Columbia, Missouri, 1977-1984
EDUCATION
Georgia State University, Department of History
Master of Heritage Preservation 2006
Emory University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Doctor of Philosophy, American Religious History 1981
Emory University, Candler School of Theology
Master of Divinity 1974
Harvard University
Bachelor of Arts 1970
AREAS OF TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND SERVICE
AMERICAN RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS, POLITY, AND ADMINISTRATION
PUBLICATIONS
 Theology, Ethics, and the Nineteenth Century American College Ideal: Conserving
a Rational World. San Francisco: Mellen Research University Press, 1993.
2


Polity, Practice, and the Mission of The United Methodist Church. Updated Edition.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2006 (Previous editions 1997, 2002).
Episcopacy in the Methodist Tradition: Perspectives and Proposals, with Russell E.
Richey. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004.
GRANTS
 “Who Will Prepare the Next Generation of Ministers?” grant of $10 m. to support
doctoral program concentration in religious practices and practical theology from The
Lilly Endowment, Inc., 2008-2018.
AMERICAN CONGREGATIONS
PUBLICATIONS
 The Soul of the Congregation: An Invitation to Congregational Reflection.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000.
GRANTS
 "The Faith and Practices of Christian Congregations," research grant of $637,000 from
The Lilly Endowment, Inc., 1991-1994.
 "Living Toward Public Church: Three Congregations," research grant of $100,000
from the Pew Charitable Trusts, 1988-1990.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
PARTNERS FOR SACRED PLACES (www.sacredplaces.org)
 Chair, Board of Directors, Partners for Sacred Places, Philadelphia, 2008 –12.
 Treasurer, Board of Directors, Partners for Sacred Places, Philadelphia, 2006-2008.
 Advisory Team for “Your Sacred Place Is a Community Asset: A Tool Kit to Attract
New Resources and Partners” congregational study instrument, Partners for Sacred
Places, Philadelphia, 1999-2002.
ACADEMIC PAPERS
 “Historic Houses of Worship in Community Memory and Imagination,” American
Academy of Religion, 2008.
 “Historic Houses of Worship: Contested Places,” Religious Research Association,
2008.
 Panel convenor and participant, “Congregations and the Sense of Place,” Religious
Research Association, 2000.
 “Building Institutions in the ‘Empty Space’ of America,” Standing Conference on
Organizational Symbolism, Warsaw, Poland, 1997.
 “Churches, Church Organizations, and a Sense of Place,” Standing Conference on
Organizational Symbolism, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1994.
GRANTS
 “America’s Historic Religious Buildings: A Heritage in Peril,” grant to support
sabbatical research on issues and case studies in preservation of historic religious
buildings, University Research Committee, Emory University, 2007-2008.
 “Churches Along the Proposed Atlanta Beltline Redevelopment,” grant to support
research on local churches affected by major planning and development initiative for
City of Atlanta, Brewer Fund, Candler School of Theology, 2006-2007, 2008-2009.