(Adapted from the Union University website)
David Dockery, professor of New Testament from 1988-1990 and 1992-1996, was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1952. After high school, Dockery studied at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Grace Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Texas Christian University. He earned a Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas system.
Dockery joined the Southern faculty in 1988 as assistant professor of New Testament. After leaving the seminary for two years to edit the New American Commentary series, he returned to Southern in 1992 to become the Dean of the School of Theology and professor of New Testament theology. In 1993, Dockery was also appointed Southern's Vice President for Academic Administration. He held these joint positions until June 1996, when he assumed the presidency of Union University. During Dockery’s tenure at Union, the university has seen a considerable rise in student enrollment and donor support. In 2004 Union successfully completed the Building a Future campaign by raising $63 million.
Dockery is the author or editor of over twenty books including The Holman Bible Handbook, Biblical Interpretation Then and Now, Theologians of the Baptist Tradition, and Shaping a Christian Worldview. In addition he has contributed to a number of important reference books of the past decade such as The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, The Holman Bible Dictionary, and The Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Dockery serves on the board of Christianity Today and also serves as a consulting editor for the magazine. Dockery and his wife, Lanese, have three sons: Jonathan, Timothy, and Benjamin.
Sources: Union University website; The Tie, 1996.
