Alumni Feature - In honor of the Dept of Music's 75th Anniversary - Rev. Dr. Liu

Gerald C. Liu holds a B.A. from Washington University (2000) with a major in Music, a Master of Divinity from Emory University Candler School of Theology (2004), and a Ph.D. in Religion from Vanderbilt University (2013). In 2010, he was ordained as a minister in the Mississippi Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has held teaching positions in numerous theology schools, most recently at the Princeton Theological Seminary. In 2021, he became Director of Collegiate Ministries, Initiatives, and Belonging for the Global Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.
 
Throughout his work, the Rev. Dr. Liu explores ideas about the arts as theological resources and phenomena, Asian-American identity, intercultural worship, and the production of believable public Christian witness. His publications Music and the Generosity of God (2017) and "Thinking Music as Divine Gift" in Continental Thought and Theory. A Journal of Intellectual Freedom, 3/3 (2021) highlight his interest in the convergence of music and spirituality.  
 
The Rev. Dr. Liu reflects on the integral role his experience in the Washington University Music Department plays in his life: “I see the world and attend to my life in large part through the lens of the musical training I received at Wash U. My music major indelibly shaped me and music remains my first love. I am still learning how to play the guitar.”