HU Ministers' Conference Elects New President

Hampton, VA -The Hampton University Ministers' Conference proudly announces that Rev. Dr. William Curtis, senior pastor of Mt. Ararat Baptist Church, in Pittsburgh, Penn., has been elected the new conference president. Curtis will be replacing outgoing conference president Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, the first female president in HU Ministers' Conference history.

Since Curtis' arrival as senior pastor at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in 1997, the church's membership has grown from 400 to over 7,100. Under his leadership, Mt. Ararat implemented a community development corporation to minister to the greater Pittsburgh area, liquidated the church mortgage in a one-day "Harvest Sunday" offering, and developed a community tithe program that returns over 10 percent of the congregation's offering to the community. Known as one of the well-known, spirit-filled preachers of our time, Curtis has served in a national "think-tank" with former President William Clinton and has ministered to multiple political and community forums throughout Pittsburgh.

A native of Baltimore, Md., Curtis received his bachelor's degree from Morgan State University, majoring in religious studies and philosophy. Later, he attended Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C., where he received his Master's of Divinity degree. In 1997, he received the Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Curtis currently serves on the board of the Urban League in Pittsburgh and is a member of the African American Leadership Committee. In 2001, he founded William H. Curtis Ministries in an effort to expand his ministry throughout the United States and abroad. He will serve a four-year term as President of the HU Ministers' Conference.

The HU Ministers' Conference, which focuses on the tradition of worship in the African-American church, is the largest group of interdenominational African-American clergy that meets anywhere in the world. Since 1914, the conference has served as a gathering of over 6,000 black clergy for a week of reflection and theology in an interdenominational setting.

The 93rd HU Ministers' Conference is scheduled for June 3-8, 2007, at Hampton University. For more information, please contact the Office of Chaplain at (757) 727-5340 or send an email to ministersconference@hamptonu.edu.