1. In Memoriam: Harlan Beckley, Former Acting University President and Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion Emeritus

In Memoriam: Harlan Beckley, Former Acting University President and Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion Emeritus Beckley worked at Washington and Lee University for 40 years and served as the founding director of the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability.

Office of Communications and Public Affairs
October 27, 2025

Harlan Beckley, former acting president of Washington and Lee University, Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion Emeritus and founding director of the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability, died on Oct. 21 He was ­­­­­­­­­­­81.

Beckley was born to William and Bernadine Beckley on Nov. 27, 1943, in Bellflower, Illinois. His parents raised Harlan and his two brothers, Lelan and BJ, on a corn, soybean and livestock farm.

Beckley majored in economics and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1966. Upon graduation, he spent a year at Wesley Theological Seminary before moving to Tennessee, where he enrolled in Vanderbilt University for all his postgraduate degrees. He completed his Master of Divinity in 1972, receiving the Founder's Medal for the highest GPA, and earned his Master of Arts there the following year. In 1978, he completed his Ph.D. in Christian theological ethics, writing his dissertation on "Economic Justice in a Pluralistic Society: A Study in Christian Social Ethics."

While working through his graduate studies, Beckley served as a Methodist minister for three churches in Kingston Springs, Tennessee, before accepting a position as instructor of religion at Washington and Lee. He was promoted to assistant professor of religion in 1978, associate professor of religion in 1984 and then professor of religion in 1989. That same year, he started his post as chair of the Department of Religion, which he held for six years. In 1999, he was named Fletcher Otey Thomas Professor of Religion.

Specializing in Christianity and ethics, Beckley taught courses on the Bible, Christian historical theology, contemporary theology and ethics, economic ethics and business ethics. He was awarded an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant in 1981, which he used for a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Chicago Divinity School. In 1987, he earned a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for College Teachers and Independent Scholars. He published his first book, "Passion for Justice: Retrieving the Legacies of Walter Rauschenbusch, John A. Ryan, and Reinhold Niebuhr," in 1992, and published "Rethinking Equal Opportunity: Dignity, Human Capability and Justice" in 2024. He also served as co-editor of "James M. Gustafson's Theocentric Ethics" (1989) and "Ethics and Advocacy" (2022) and edited five issues of "The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics" from 1991-96.

While Beckley was conducting research and teaching a course on social justice and economic issues, he crossed paths with then W&L Board of Trustees member Tom Shepherd '52. In conversations with Shepherd, Beckley expressed a vision of creating an interdisciplinary program at W&L that tackled the questions of poverty through coursework and community engagement. Not wanting to create a new major at W&L, Beckley hoped to lean into the nature of the liberal arts, with colleagues across disciplines incorporating poverty into their teachings and coursework. Shepherd believed in Beckley's idea and agreed to fund the pilot program for six years. In September of 1997, Beckley taught his first POV 101 class, launching the Shepherd Program for the Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability.

"Harlan had many gifts. One was the ability to see what others could not: a new approach to higher education that combines compassion and intellect to prepare students - whatever their backgrounds, majors, career paths or political perspectives - to address the problems associated with poverty and inequality. Another was the ability to work tirelessly with others to make that new approach a reality," said Howard Pickett, director of the Shepherd Program, professor of ethics and poverty studies and adjunct professor of law at Washington and Lee. "I feel surrounded by Harlan's legacy all day every day - but never more than when a new student tells me Shepherd is the reason they chose W&L, or when an alum stops by Mattingly House to tell me how professor Beckley changed their lives."

The success of the Shepherd Program outlasted the initial six-year window, with poverty and human capability studies becoming the No. 1 minor at W&L, and with signature programs, such as the Bonner Program and Campus Kitchen, blossoming from it. In 2012, Beckley founded the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP), which spread the concept of the Shepherd Program to 16 colleges and universities beyond W&L; he served as the SHECP director until 2017.

"The Shepherd Program expanded greatly over the years to include numerous co-curricular initiatives. These included a campus kitchen, after-school tutorial assistance, a backpack program to address community food insecurity over weekends, the Nabors Service League to assist local community service providers and Leading Edge (formerly Volunteer Venture)," said Art Goldsmith, Jackson T. Stephens Professor of Economics. "Whenever I asked Harlan about the state of the Shepherd Program, he would say - with great pride - 'Look at what the students have added now.'"

Beckley served on the President's Advisory Committee four times, starting in 1990, and chaired the Presidential Search and Screening Committee in 2001. When then-university President Tom Burish accepted a job at the University of Notre Dame, Beckley stepped up to serve as interim acting university president in 2005. Never intended to be a permanent position, he held the post for a year until the university hired Ken Ruscio '76 as his successor. Beckley resumed his professorship and role as director of the Shepherd Program in 2006, officially retiring from the university in 2014.

"Harlan was a terrific and dynamic leader - a person who inspired others to be their best," said Goldsmith. "In all of his endeavors he displayed grace, wisdom and respectfulness, leading others to see him as a superb role model."

In 2002, Beckley received the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia's Outstanding Faculty Award, the highest award in Virginia for excellence in education. The W&L Executive Committee presented him with the William W. Pusey III Award in 1997, which recognizes an individual who has made the greatest contributions to the university, and, in 2000, the Ring-tum Phi staff honored him with the Ring-tum Phi Award for his humble, "unpublicized contribution" to the W&L community. He was inducted into W&L's Omicron Delta Kappa chapter as an honorary member in 1999, and, in 2018, the university awarded him an honorary degree. Several endowed funds and scholarships in his honor have been established at W&L.

Beyond the university, Beckley served as editor of "The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics," vice president and president of the Society of Christian Ethics and Sunday school teacher at the Trinity United Methodist Church for decades - and was a devoted fan of the Chicago Cubs.

"As an applied religious ethicist, Harlan knew that making the world a better, more just place takes careful study, tireless collaboration and respect for the dignity of every person. But he also knew that it takes personal connections - something Harlan had in abundance," said Pickett. "It sometimes seemed like he knew everyone. And if he didn't know you, he would get to know you - and then surprise you by remembering your name whenever your paths crossed again.

"Thanks to his vision, energy and passion for justice, Harlan has left an impressive legacy. He has left W&L, Rockbridge County and every school that has joined the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty better than he found them."

Beckley is survived by his wife of 54 years, Deborah Beckley, children Benjamin Beckley (Jess), Jonathan Beckley (Stephne) and Rachel Beckley Murray (Mark), grandchildren Houston, Scarlette and Sarah and brother Lelan Beckley (Char). He was predeceased by his brother BJ Beckley (Jackie). The family will hold a public remembrance at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks to please consider memorial donations to the Harlan and Debby Beckley Internship Endowment at W&L and Trinity United Methodist Church, in Lexington.

Beckley's full obituary was published in The News-Gazette.