The Duke Endowment is pleased to announce the appointment of retired United Methodist Church Bishop Hope Morgan Ward to its Board of Trustees.
Ward served as Bishop of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church from 2012 until her retirement in 2021. She currently serves as Ecumenical Officer for the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church, and as Bishop in Residence for the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
“With her extensive background in the Methodist Church, her deep connection to Duke University and her past work in children’s services, Bishop Ward is well prepared to help us advance the Endowment’s work,” said Board Chair Charles C. Lucas III. “We are delighted to have her join us.”
A North Carolina native, Ward graduated from Duke University in 1973, then received her Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in 1978. She served as a minister and pastor for several local churches before being named Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Carolina Conference, then District Superintendent in Raleigh. She went on to serve eight years as Bishop of the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church before her appointment as Bishop in North Carolina.
Ward said she benefitted from the Endowment’s support throughout her education and career, first as an undergraduate student at Duke University and then at Duke Divinity School. The Endowment, as directed in James B. Duke’s Indenture of Trust, supports Duke University, and provides substantial support to North Carolina’s two United Methodist conferences. Ward also served as a teaching parent and chaplain for the Methodist Home for Children, which has received Endowment support.
“When I was a Bishop in Mississippi, people would say, ‘What do you miss in North Carolina?’ I would always say, ‘My mother, and The Duke Endowment,’” she recalled, chuckling. “I am really honored to have the opportunity to serve in this way, because I know the impact the Endowment has had in North and South Carolina, and beyond.”
Ward has also served on the Duke Divinity School Board of Visitors and the Duke University Board of Trustees. She has been named a “Champion for Children” by the N.C. Foundation for Public School Children and has been awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for exemplary public service.
She lives in Raleigh with her husband Michael. They have two adult children.