BUSTH Welcomes New Director of Tom Porter Religion and Conflict Transformation Program

Dr. James (Jimmy) McCarty joins BUSTH from the University of Washington Tacoma.

May 2022 – Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is pleased to announce the appointment of new full-time faculty member James (Jimmy) McCarty, who will begin at the end of July 2022. Dr. McCarty will join the faculty as Assistant Clinical Professor of Religion and Conflict Transformation and Director of the Tom Porter Religion and Conflict Transformation Program

Dr. McCarty is an interdisciplinary scholar with published articles in journals such as the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, Journal of Law and Religion, and Theology and Sexuality. He is a co-editor of The Business of War: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Military-Industrial Complex, and the forthcoming The Business of Incarceration: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Prison-Industrial Complex. He joins BUSTH from the University of Washington Tacoma, where he currently serves as the Executive Director for Equity and Inclusion. Previously, he has held dual administrative-teaching positions at Emory University, Seattle University, and has served as a minister at parish churches in California, Georgia, and Washington. He received his PhD from Emory University, and his current research is at the intersections of Christian ethics and racial justice, restorative justice, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and transformative justice. 

“For generations the Boston University School of Theology and Tom Porter Program on Religion and Conflict Transformation have made substantial impacts on church and society and I am humbled to join these great lineages,” says Dr. McCarty. “I am particularly excited to lead the next era of the RCT program as it prepares Christian ministers and interfaith leaders who will build a more just and peaceful world.” 

“There is great excitement for the ways that Dr. McCarty brings significant skills and gifts to build upon the legacy of the RCT program.”

Dr. McCarty is an award-winning practitioner in building university-community partnerships with community-based organizations committed to social justice,” says School of Theology Dean G. Sujin Pak. “There is great excitement for the ways he brings significant skills and gifts to build upon the legacy of the RCT program and provide visionary leadership to grow, expand, and deepen its programs, partnerships, and teaching, as well as foster a research profile for the program.

View Dr. McCarty’s CV