Harold Dean Trulear, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Applied Theology
Harold Dean Trulear, Ph.D., has served as Associate Professor of Applied Theology at Howard University School of Divinity since 2003. He currently teaches Prophetic Ministry, Ethics and Politics, Ministry and Criminal Justice, and Church and Community Studies. He is also National Director of Healing Communities USA, an organization that trains and supports congregations in their work with individuals and families impacted by crime and mass incarceration.
Through his research and activism he has been named a Fellow at the Center for Public Justice in Annapolis, Maryland, and served as a consultant to the Faith and Families portfolio of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In 2014, Dr. Trulear was named as one of “14 Faith Leaders to Watch” by the Center for American Progress. He also served as a member of the Executive Session on Community Corrections at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University from 2013-16. He is a “Leading with Conviction” 2017 Fellow at JustLeadership USA.
Prior to joining the Howard Divinity faculty, he served as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Religion and Public Policy at the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University. He also held faculty positions at Yale University, Colgate Rochester Divinity School, The Center for Urban Theological Studies (Geneva College), and Jersey City State College.
His administrative experience includes Dean for First Professional Programs at New York Theological Seminary (1990-96) and Vice President for Faith Based Initiatives at Public/Private Ventures (1998-2001). He also served as pastor of churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and he is currently a pastoral associate at Praise and Glory Tabernacle in Philadelphia.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College (1975), he completed his Ph.D. with distinction at Drew University (1983). Dr. Trulear is the author of over 100 articles, book chapters, essays and published sermons. His important monographs include “Faith Based Initiatives with High Risk Youth,” “The African American Church and Welfare Reform,” and “George Kelsey: Unsung Hero.” With Charles Lewis and W. Wilson Goode, he is co-editor of the book Ministry with Prisoners and Families: The Way Forward (Judson Press 2011).