Dean Richard B. Hays has announced the appointment of Christena Cleveland as associate professor of the practice of reconciliation and as the director of the Center for Reconciliation (CFR) at Duke Divinity School effective July 1.

Cleveland works in the field of social psychology. Her research seeks to uncover the underlying processes that affect relationships within and between groups, and to help leaders understand how to promote appreciation for diversity and build effective collaborations with diverse groups.

“We are delighted that Dr. Christena Cleveland will be joining our faculty,” Hays said. “She will bring many gifts to this important ministry of reconciliation through this new professorship, which assures the long-term continuation and future growth of the Center for Reconciliation as it continues to support faith leaders who work toward reconciliation in the United States and abroad.”

Cleveland is currently an associate professor of reconciliation studies in the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Reconciliation Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn.

She is the author of Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart, a book about the unseen dynamics behind conflict and divisions among Christians that received a 2013 Leadership Journal Book Award. Cleveland is currently writing The Priesthood of the Privileged, which examines power and inequality in the church.

In 2014, Christianity Today magazine named her one of “33 Under 33” (millennial leaders who are shaping the next generation of Christian faith), and JET magazine identified her one as of five “online shepherds to follow.”

Cleveland earned an A.B. from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. An award-winning researcher, she has published numerous scholarly articles. She regularly coaches pastors and leaders on multicultural issues.

Prior to her appointment at Bethel University, Cleveland was an assistant professor of psychology at St. Catherine University, an assistant professor of psychology at Westmont College, and a visiting assistant professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.