Stephanie Boddie, PhD

Education

PhD (Social Welfare), University of Pennsylvania
MSW, University of Pennsylvania
BS, John's Hopkins University

Research Interests

Congregation-Based Social Surveys
Trends in Faith-Based Initiatives
Social Entrepreneurial Approaches to Disparities in Wealth, Health, and Food Insecurity

Courses Taught

Black Churches: Past, Present, and Future

Publication Highlights

• Co-author, The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership.
• Co-author, The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare.
• Co-author, The Philadelphia Story: How Local Congregations Support Quality of Life in Urban America.
• Co-author, Faith-Based Social Services: Measures, Assessments, and Effectiveness.

About Dr. Boddie

Dr. Stephanie Clintonia Boddie joined the Baylor University faculty in 2017 as an assistant professor of Church and Community Ministries with affiliations at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work, the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, and the School of Education. She is also affiliated with Baylor's Digital Humanities program. Boddie is a senior affiliate at the University of Pennsylvania's Program for Research on Religion & Urban Civil Society (PRRUCS) and the Partnership for Innovation, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Leadership, and Organization (PICCLO). She is a faculty associate at the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis and the Center for Equitable Family and Community Well-being at University of Michigan as well as a co-convener of the Transatlantic Roundtable on Religion and Race and professor extraordinarius at University of South Africa’s Institute for Gender Studies, and she is a 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 Villanova Church Management Fellow.

Previously, Boddie served as senior consultant for the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary's Metro-Urban Institute and taught in the seminary's Doctorate of Ministry Urban Change program. She held research appointments at Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh. She also served as a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, as well as lead consultant for the Anne E. Casey Foundation’s Faith & Family Portfolio and on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis.

Boddie’s research explores congregation-based social services and trends in faith-based initiatives as well as social entrepreneurial approaches to address disparities in wealth, health, and food insecurity. She is co-director of the research, teaching and public history project, The Ward: Race and Class in Du Bois' Seventh Ward. During her time at Carnegie Mellon University, she launched her research project, Unfinished Business: Religion & the Entrepreneurial Spirit and created the film Unfinished Business.

In addition to numerous journal articles and reports, Boddie has co-authored the following books: Racializing Health, COVID-19, Religious Responses: Black Atlantic Contexts and Perspectives; Urban Ministry Reconsidered: Contexts and Approaches; Faith-Based Social Services: Measures, Assessments, and Effectiveness; The Other Philadelphia Story: How Local Congregations Support Quality of Life in Urban America; The Invisible Caring Hand: American Congregations and the Provision of Welfare; and The Newer Deal: Social Work and Religion in Partnership. She has also co-produced four short films. Her research has also been featured in Time Magazine, Religion News Service, Urban Faith, and other news outlets.

Boddie received her doctorate in social welfare and master's in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and her bachelor's degree in natural science from Johns Hopkins University.

Boddie loves music, gardening, and cooking. She finds ways to incorporate these passions into her teaching, research, and community service. You can find her singing on of her favorite Spirituals here.