In the summer of 2005, Sam Wells became Dean of Duke University Chapel-taking on the professional responsibility of maintaining the motto of the Chapel itself- "keeping the heart of the university listening to the heart of God."

In a special holiday episode of UNC-TV's North Carolina People, meet the man behind the spiritual side of Duke University, when Dean Wells sits down with series host William Friday, Friday, December 23, at 9 PM. This episode will rebroadcast on Sunday, December 25, at 5:30 PM.

In this upcoming episode, Wells sheds light on his new role as Dean of Duke Chapel that includes preaching at Sunday services at Duke Chapel, leading worship, helping all to see the connections between Christian faith and theology and the pressing issues of the day, and making the Chapel and the poorest neighborhoods of Durham visible to one another. Wells is also Research Professor of Christian Ethics at Duke Divinity School.

Born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada, Dean Wells grew up in England in a village between Bath and Bristol, about 100 miles west of London. He graduated from Merton College, Oxford, with an M.A. in Modern History, from Edinburgh University with a B.D. in Systematic Theology, and from Durham University with a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics.

Before training for ordination, Wells was a community worker in inner-city Liverpool. From 1991-2005, Wells served in parish ministry in the Church of England. He was assistant curate in Wallsend, North Tyneside and in Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, before being incumbent in Norwich, and Cambridge. While in Norwich, Wells  helped to establish and was for several years vice-chair of the North Earlham, Larkman and Marlpit Development Trust, the first organization in the East of England devoted to community-led urban regeneration.

Sam Wells has published Transforming Fate into Destiny in 1998, Faithfulness and Fortitude (with Mark Thiessen Nation) in 2000, Community-Led Estate Regeneration and the Local Church in 2003, The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics (with Stanley Hauerwas) in 2004 and Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics in 2004. He has also published many articles in academic and more popular journals.

Sam Wells is married to Jo Bailey Wells, who is a former Dean of Clare College, Cambridge and is now Director of Anglican Studies at Duke Divinity School. They have two children.

Don't miss William Friday's interview with Duke Chapel's own Dean Sam Wells on North Carolina People, Friday, December 23, at 9 PM and Sunday, December 25, at 5:30 PM, only on UNC-TV!

Funding for North Carolina People is provided by UNC-TV members and Wachovia Bank of America. This local series is part of UNC-TV's ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina.

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