HTI Alumni

Field of Study: Practical Theology 

The Rev. Dr. José R. Irizarry serves as the 10^th President of Austin Theological Seminary in Texas.   Before coming to Austin in 2022, he served as Vice President of Education at the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). A scholar in the field of practical theology, Irizarry has recently taught at Villanova University and held teaching and administrative positions at various educational and theological institutions, including the University of Cambridge (Visiting Fellow), Lutheran School of Theology, Pacific School of Religion, and McCormick Theological Seminary.

Out of his expertise as a bilingual educator, Dr. Irizarry directed Cambridge College’s regional campus in his native San Juan, Puerto Rico, (2011-2015) and served as academic dean, acting president, and held The Limardo Chair in Practical Theology at the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico (2007-2011). He earned degrees from the University of Puerto Rico (BA), McCormick Theological Seminary (MDiv), and Northwestern University (PhD), as well as professional certifications from the Universitá per Stranieri di Perugia, Italy, Boston College, and Cornell University.

Supporting his work in the field of religious education and intercultural relations, Irizarry has traveled internationally to lead seminars, conferences, and conduct research. He has chaired academic accreditation teams in the US and Puerto Rico and was elected the first Latino president of the centenary Religious Education Association in the United States and Canada. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), he has served on various denominational and ecumenical committees, including the National Council of Churches.  He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation (Westminster John Knox Press, Geneva Press) and served as a Trustee at Columbia Theological Seminary. The Reverend Dr. José Irizarry is married to Mildred (Milly) Del Valle, a speech pathologist and ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, and they are parents to three young adults.