News

New principal at St John's

(20 December 2005)

The Revd Dr David Wilkinson, a leading scholar, author and lecturer on the interaction between Theology and Science, has been appointed as the new Principal of St John's College, Durham University, in succession to Professor Stephen Sykes who will retire next summer.

Dr Wilkinson (42), a native of the North East, is an ordained Methodist Minister and has been given permission by the Methodist Church to accept the post of Principal of St John's, which has an Anglican foundation. The College consists of John's Hall (for undergraduates and postgraduates of the University of Durham), Cranmer Hall (training women and men for ministry in the Church of England) and the Wesley Study Centre (also training people for ministry in the Methodist Church). After attending Greencroft Comprehensive School in Annfield Plain, County Durham, David Wilkinson's academic record is remarkable. He has a degree in Physics from Durham and a degree in Theology from Cambridge as well as two PhDs - one in Theoretical Astrophysics and another in Systematic Theology. A prolific lecturer and speaker with an excellent reputation in North America and Asia, Dr Wilkinson has not been afraid to address some of the key issues relating to how science and theology combine in the context of the faith and belief. He is currently the Wesley Research Lecturer in Theology and Science in the Department of Theology and Religion at the Durham University and previously had a Fellowship in Christian Apologetics at St John's. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the World Methodist Council and is presently a Council member of Evangelical Alliance. Among his most celebrated publications are the books God, Time and Stephen Hawking and The Power of the Force (The Spirituality of the Star Wars Movies). His more recent book is entitled Creation. Dr Wilkinson said: "I am delighted to have been appointed as the next Principal of St John's College, Durham. Having grown up and studied in the North East, it is a tremendous privilege to serve in this way and within this very special college community." Dr Wilkinson is married to Alison, also a Methodist Minister and they have two children, Adam (11) and Hannah (9). The Bishop of Peterborough, Rt Revd Ian Cundy, who is Chair of the St John's College Council, said that the appointment was an excellent ecumenical opportunity for the working together of different Christian traditions across the North East. Bishop Cundy added: "I warmly welcome this appointment. His long-standing interest and in science and theology, reflected in his range of publications, will further the work the College has already done through its Borderlands project to encourage Christian engagement with different aspects of modern culture." Canon Anne Dyer, Warden of Cranmer Hall, speaking on behalf of the St John's College Officers, said that she was delighted with the news and added: "David Wilkinson will bring to this post a commitment to both academic excellence and the Christian mission to the North East of England".