Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Youth and Family Ministry Program
Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, North Carolina
Dr. Mindy Makant serves as Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Youth and Family Ministry (YFM) Program at Lenoir-Rhyne University. She has also held leadership roles as Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Director of the Living Well Center for Vocation and Purpose.
An ordained deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and a certified spiritual director, Dr. Makant is deeply committed to helping students explore questions of faith, justice, and vocation. Her teaching and research focus on pastoral care, theological ethics, the church’s role in public life, and the power of imagination in shaping faithful communities.
Dr. Makant is the author of The Practice of Story: Suffering and the Possibilities of Redemption and Holy Mischief: In Honor and Celebration of Women in Ministry. Her scholarly work has appeared in journals such as Theology and Word & World, and she has contributed to ELCA task forces on civic engagement and global partnerships.
She holds a Th.D. in Theology and Ethics from Duke University Divinity School, an M.A. in Theology from Ohio Dominican University, an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the University of West Georgia, and a B.A. in Spanish from Mercer University.
In recognition of her contributions to scholarship and service, Dr. Makant has received the Lenoir-Rhyne Faculty Scholar Award and the Roediger Distinguished Service Professorship.
When she isn’t teaching or writing, Dr. Makant enjoys life in the North Carolina foothills with her husband, Pastor Russell Makant, and their two adult children.
