Contact: Kerry Traubert

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The Fund for Theological Education

Names Two Vice Presidents
Doctoral and Ministry Program Directors
Expand Responsibilities

ATLANTA, January 26, 2006 – Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker and Melissa Wiginton have
been appointed vice presidents of The Fund for Theological Education (FTE). In these roles,
Fluker and Wiginton assume increased management responsibilities for strategic planning
and administration for the Fund in its work to support the next generation of gifted pastors
and scholars.
FTE annually awards more than $1.2 million in fellowships and support to
undergraduate, seminary and doctoral students exploring ministry and theological
scholarship.
Effective immediately, Sharon Watson Fluker serves as FTE vice president for
Doctoral Programs and Administration. She continues to direct FTE’s Doctoral Programs for
racial/ethnic doctoral students in religion, biblical studies and theology, who are traditionally
underrepresented in the academy. Fluker assumes new management responsibilities for
operations at FTE’s Atlanta office and for initiatives to strengthen and enhance diversity
throughout all FTE fellowship programs.
Melissa Wiginton now serves as vice president for Ministry Programs and Planning. In
this capacity, Wiginton assumes increased management responsibilities for long-range
planning and strategy in addition to FTE’s Ministry and Undergraduate Fellowships and
related programs. She will also provide leadership for the new FTE Calling Congregations
program, an ecumenical partnership of churches nationwide committed to supporting
vocational discernment among youth, and the consideration of ordained ministry in particular.
FTE’s Calling Congregations initiative is funded by a new $6 million grant from Lilly
Endowment Inc.
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FTE – Page 2

“The Fund and the young people we serve are fortunate to benefit from the
extraordinary leadership gifts that Sharon and Melissa bring to this work,” said the Rev. Ann
Svennungsen, president of The Fund for Theological Education. “Their devotion to the
leadership development needs of both the church and the academy has made a tangible
difference by motivating a new generation to pursue ministry and scholarship. They are an
outstanding management team.”
Fluker joined FTE in 1998 after holding teaching appointments at Elms College, Dillard
University, the State University of New York at Geneseo and the University of Rochester. She
formerly served as assistant dean of admissions and minority and women student affairs at
Vanderbilt University and as director of minority student affairs and dean of sophomores at
the University of Rochester. Fluker holds a Ph.D. in political science from Northwestern
University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Spelman College. She was
awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University and a teaching fellowship at Smith College.
Wiginton joined FTE in 1998 after graduating summa cum laude from Emory
University’s Candler School of Theology with a Master of Divinity degree. She served for
three years on the faculty of the Youth Theology Institute at Candler, teaching American Law
and Christian Faith. A former attorney, Wiginton served as an associate of Emory
University’s Center for Ethics, working in the Ethics and Servant Leadership Project and
teaching courses for vocational exploration and ethics at Emory Law School. She serves on
Duke University’s Pulpit & Pew project and on the Advisory Committee for Programs for the
Theological Exploration of Vocation, a Lilly Endowment Inc. initiative, coordinated through
FTE. Wiginton earned her bachelor’s degree in American studies and her J.D. at the
University of Texas at Austin.
The Fund for Theological Education is a leading advocate for excellence and diversity in
Christian ministry and theological scholarship. FTE supports the next generation of leaders
among pastors and scholars, providing fellowships and a network of support for gifted young
people from all denominations and racial/ethnic backgrounds. Since 1954, the Atlanta-based
organization has awarded more than 5,600 fellowships in partnership with others committed
to quality leadership for the church. Information about FTE is available on the Web at
www.thefund.org. ###