Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, OP, Ph.D.

Sr. Jamie T. Phelps, OP, Ph.D., is director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies and professor of systematic theology at Xavier University in Louisiana. A member of the Adrian Dominican Congregation since 1959, Dr. Phelps is known as a woman committed to systemic change for social justice, founding several institutional programs to encourage a continued growth of theology and ministry in the black Catholic community. She is also a founding member of the National Black Catholic Sisters’ Conference, founder of the Augustus Tolton Lay Ministry Program at Catholic Theological Union, and founder of the renewed Black Catholic Theological Symposium. Dr. Phelps has received many fellowships and awards, including the Distinguished Visiting Professor Fellowship from the University of Dayton and the Harriet Tubman Award for outstanding leadership from the National Black Sisters’ Conference. She has written more than 50 theological articles on the mission of the Church, evangelization, inculturation, Christology and spirituality. She has lectured throughout the country on many religious topics, including, “Redemptive Suffering: Loving Your Enemies,” “Theological Underpinnings of Martin Luther King’s Legacy,” “Women As Peacemakers And Justice Seekers,” and “The Catholic Church in the 21st Century.” Dr. Phelps earned an M.S.W. from the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle and holds a master’s degree in theology from St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN., and a doctorate in systematic theology from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.