Following nearly five decades of service, Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr., founding dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, has announced his plans to retire, effective June 30, 2026.
Dr. Carter, a full professor of religion, was appointed to his current deanship in 1979. Early into his tenure, he founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel Assistants Pre-Seminarians Program. He has also served as the college archivist and curator at Morehouse and as a lecturer with the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.
Throughout his long career with Morehouse, Dr. Carter has mentored dozens of Black gospel leaders and focused on advancing scholarship, global peace-building, ethical inquiry, and interfaith dialogue on campus. He is the author of several articles and six books, including A Baptist Preacher’s Buddhist Teacher: How My Interfaith Journey With Daisaku Ikeda Made Me a Better Christian (Middleway Press, 2018).
Dr. Carter is a graduate of Virginia University of Lynchburg. He holds two master’s degrees and a doctorate from Boston University.
