Forrest E. Harris Sr., the tenth president of American Baptist College in Nashville, Tennessee, recently retired from his role after more than 25 years of service.
Founded in 1924 through a collaboration between the all-Black National Baptist Convention and the all-White Southern Baptist Convention, American Baptist College was established to educate rural Black clergy for leadership in their communities. Today, the college offers programs in general studies, theology, behavioral studies, entrepreneurial leadership, and music. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Education officially recognized American Baptist College as a historically Black college.
Since assuming his presidency in July 1999, Dr. Harris has overseen growth in several different areas of the HBCU’s operations. He spearheaded initiatives that strengthened the college’s accreditation, fostered national and global strategic partnerships, secured significant fundraising donations and grant funding, increased student scholarships, and advanced the college’s academic training for vocations in social justice leadership.
Prior to American Baptist College, Dr. Harris was director of the Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies at Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville. He has authored numerous scholarly publications throughout his career, including Ministry for Social Crisis: Theology and Praxis in the Black Church Tradition (Mercer University Press, 1997).
An HBCU graduate, Dr. Harris received a bachelor’s degree from Knoxville College and a bachelor of theology degree from American Baptist College. He holds a master of divinity degree and a doctor of ministry degree from Vanderbilt University.
