Darby Kathleen Ray is the Donald W. and Ann M. Harward Professor of Civic Engagement at Bates College (ME), where she also is professor of religious studies and director of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships. In this role, she leads institutional strategy and program development in support of the college’s civic mission, teaches in religious studies, leads workshops and seminars in community-engaged learning and research, and develops college-community collaborations. Previously, Ray was professor of religious studies at Millsaps College (MS), where she also was founding director of the Millsaps Faith and Work Initiative, a project of the Lilly Endowment’s Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation (which eventually led to the creation of NetVUE).
Ray is the author of Theology That Matters: Ecology, Economy, and God (2006), Incarnation and Imagination: A Christian Ethic of Ingenuity (2008), and Working (2011). She also participated in the NetVUE Scholarly Resources Project and wrote “Self, World, and the Space Between: Community Engagement as Vocational Discernment” in At This Time and In This Place: Vocation and Higher Education (2016). She is the co-director, with Paul Wadell, of NetVUE’s highly successful faculty seminar, Teaching Vocational Exploration. Ray earned a BA from Sewanee: The University of the South (TN) and an MA and PhD from Vanderbilt University (TN)—all in religion.