Academic Vice President Justin Collings has appointed John B. White, PhD, as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, beginning Winter Semester 2026.
Dr. White joins BYU from Baylor University, where he served from 2011 to 2025 as a tenured Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Ethics. At Baylor, he was Director of the Graduate Chaplaincy Program and co-founder of the Faith & Sports Institute, which he established with his wife, Cindy White. In these roles, Dr. White provided academic and grant leadership as a principal investigator for graduate theological education and nationally recognized initiatives integrating faith, ethics, sport, chaplaincy training and innovative pedagogy, and embodied practices for Christian leaders.
An interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. White’s research brings moral theology/ethics and practical theology to bear on different contexts and applied to moral and cultural matters such as sports, medicine, and business. His work addresses questions of character formation, moral agency, cultural hermeneutics, embodiment, and discipleship, with particular attention to various forms of institutional chaplaincy. He has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and books and is currently engaged in multiple book projects with major academic presses.
Dr. White earned his PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where his doctoral work focused on theological ethics and anthropology. Dr. White has said that part of what makes him grateful to join BYU is the chance to contribute to the university’s educational aims and strong tradition of athletics by supporting initiatives that integrate faith, character, and spiritual formation with excellence in sport, including collaborative work with BYU Athletics focused on holistic athlete development.
His appointment at the Maxwell Institute will focus on research, writing, mentoring, and collaboration as a disciple-scholar in support of the Institute’s mission to advance rigorous scholarship grounded in the relevance and translation of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to all spheres of life.
Dr. White and his wife have three adult children and two grandchildren.