Townes has taught at a number of academic institutions, including Chicago Theological Seminary, McCormick Theological Seminary, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, DePaul University, Saint Paul School of Theology, Union Theological Seminary in New York, and Yale Divinity School, holding named chairs at both Union and Yale.[3] In 2013 she became Dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, and in 2018 she was reappointed for a second five-year term. In 2022 Townes announced that she will conclude her deanship at Vanderbilt Divinity School at the end of the 2022–2023 academic year.[2] Her accomplishments as Dean include the launching of the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements, the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative, and the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice, as well as curriculum reform and building renovations.[2]
Townes has made major contributions to the field of womanist theology and ethics. She has been described as a "towering figure in theological education."[5] The connection between faith and activism is a hallmark of her scholarship.[6] Her research interests include health, interlocking forms of oppression, womanism, cultural studies, and postmodernism.[7][8] She was awarded an honorary master's degree from Yale University in 2005, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Christian Theological Seminary in 2022.[5]
Townes served as the president of the American Academy of Religion in 2008, and the president of the Society for the Study of Black Religion from 2012–2016.[2] In 2022, Townes was elected as the 2025 president of the Society of Christian Ethics. She will become the society's first Black woman president.[3]
