History of the Antoinette Brown Lecture Series

The lecture series is named for Antoinette Brown (1825-1921), the first woman ordained to the Christian ministry in the United States. She was a preacher, writer, and advocate using faith and ministry as platforms for early advancement of women’s rights. Brown pursued formal theological education despite knowing it would not be fully recognized at the time. She spoke widely to challenge both religious and social norms. The lecture honors her legacy each year, serving as a reminder of her enduring impact and accomplishments. Lectures have taken place since 1974. There were no lectures in 1980, 1984, 2019, and 2021.

Sylvia Sanders Kelley, the benefactor of the Antoinette Brown Lecture Series was a 1954 graduate of Vanderbilt University. Sylvia Sanders Kelley and her husband, Blaine Kelley, Jr., have long supported the Divinity School, including serving on the Board of Visitors and sponsoring scholarships for Divinity School students. When Sylvia approached Dean Walter Harrelson about sponsoring a large theological conference on women’s issues at Vanderbilt, he suggested that she might have a greater impact by sponsoring the lecture series. Later, she joined with others to establish an endowment which supports the Antoinette Brown Lectures to this day.

The history of the Office of Women’s Concerns at the Vanderbilt Divinity School is closely connected to the history of the Antoinette Brown Lecture series. The Divinity School established a Women’s Task Force in the early 1970s, which sponsored the first Antoinette Brown Lecture in 1974 and created the Office of Women’s Concerns (OWC). The Lectures often took place in March and were complemented by other programming.

Read more about the origins of The Office of Women’s Concerns up to its 10th anniversary in 1983.