DURHAM -  Richard B. Hays has been appointed to a full term as dean of Duke Divinity School.

Hays, the George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, is a scholar of the letters of Paul and on New Testament ethics. His work has bridged the disciplines of biblical criticism and literary studies, exploring the innovative ways in which early Christian writers interpreted Israel's Scripture.

Hays came to Duke in 1991 from the faculty of the Yale Divinity School, where he earlier received a Master of Divinity degree. He earned a Ph.D. at Emory University. His book, "The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation," was selected by Christianity Today as one of the 100 most important religious books of the 20th century. His other influential books include "Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul" and "The Conversion of the Imagination." He has lectured widely in North America, Europe, Israel, Australia and New Zealand.

An ordained United Methodist minister, Hays has preached in settings ranging from rural Oklahoma churches to London's Westminster Abbey. He has chaired the Pauline Epistles Section of the Society of Biblical Literature as well as the Seminar on New Testament Ethics in the Society for New Testament Studies, and has served on the editorial boards of several leading scholarly journals. As dean, he succeeded L. Gregory Jones, who served from 1997-2010.

Founded in 1926 as the first of Duke's graduate professional schools, the Divinity School attracts students from around the world. One of 13 seminaries founded and supported by the United Methodist Church, it offers two doctoral and five master's level degrees, as well as dual-degree programs with social work and law.