School of Divinity Faculty Focus –

Dr. Sheryl Ann Dawson Adams

Dr. Sheryl Ann Dawson Adams

Professor of Theology and Church History

B.M.E., Northeast Louisiana State University

M.Ed., Louisiana State University
M.Div., New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary
Th.D., New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary
Additional study: Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and The Association for Case
Teaching Summer Institute

Sheryl Ann Dawson Adams joined the School of Divinity faculty in 1995. She teaches Introduction
to Church History I, Introduction to Church History II, The Cross, The Changing Face of Baptists,
Women in Ministry, and Capstone Seminar. Additionally, Dr. Adams leads Civil Rights and
Women’s Rights study tours. She is the author of What the Bible Really Says about Women and The
Bible and Sinbearing: New Questions about Old Answers. Dr. Adams is bilingual and has written
numerous articles and book chapters in Spanish, including a commentary article on the book of
Esther. Her research interests include church history and gender issues.

Prior to joining the faculty of the School of Divinity, Dr. Adams was the Associate Professor of
Theology at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aries, Argentina. She has
traveled extensively to 19 countries, including one year of study at the Spanish Language Institute
in Costa Rica, four seasons of biblical/archeological excavation/study in Israel, and a semester as
Scholar-in-Residence with the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, Dr. Adams spent her sabbatical in Chile and Scotland, where she researched the life of
William D. T. MacDonald, one of the patriarchs of Baptist work in Chile.

A native of Louisiana, Dr. Adams began her journey in education as a high school band teacher. She
is married to Dr. Bobby Ell Adams, and they are the parents of one adult child. Dr. Adams and her
husband are the founders of a publishing company, A Pair of Docs Publishing
(www.apairofdocspublishing.com). They have published five books.