On April 21, Central Methodist University will welcome Dr. Mark Y.A. Davies back to campus to give the 2026 Perry Lecture on Faith and Science. Davies will present his lecture, titled “Science, Religion, and the United Methodist Social Principles,” at 7 p.m. in the Inman Lecture Hall (Stedman 200).
This will mark the second time Davies has presented in CMU’s academic lecture series, following his 2021 Fleer Lecture address in which he spoke on the climate crisis and the need for ecological community.
Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics and Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility at Oklahoma City University, where he has worked in both teaching and administration for 30 years. He is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church, where he has served as Chair of the Board of Church and Society from 2015 to 2018 and co-chair from 2023 to the present. He serves as the environmental ethics consultant for the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church.
Davies has led and implemented a number of initiatives in coordination with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church, including a Methodist Higher Education Global Ethics Initiative from 2008 to 2012, a United Methodist Higher Education Interfaith Initiative from 2015 to 2020, and a Global Methodist Higher Education Social and Ecological Responsibility Initiative from December 2016 to 2025. He also served as executive director of the Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Hub in the United States from 2018 to 2025. Davies has published in the areas of Boston personalism, process philosophy and ethics, and ecological ethics.
About the lecture series
The Dr. Thomas A. Perry Faith and Science Lecture Series has been endowed at CMU thanks to a generous gift from Rev. Garth Leigh, who wished to honor the memory of Dr. Perry, longtime chair of the CMC English department. Leigh sponsored a lecture series as a testament to the impact Perry had on generations of students at Central, encouraging them to think deeply, wrestle with greater questions, and challenge themselves to be the best citizens and scholars. The annual lecture focuses on the role that minister-scientists have played in the development of both religious traditions as well as scientific discoveries.
In addition to spending 20 years as chairman of the Department of English at Central Methodist College, Perry also served as chair of the Division of Literature and Languages and of the honors program. He sponsored Scribblers and Scrawlers, a club for aspiring creative writers, hosting and entertaining them monthly in his home. Perry is the late father of Dr. Tad Perry ’65, current member of the board of trustees at CMU. Rev. Leigh served as a United Methodist Pastor for many years and has worked as a freelance writer since his retirement from ministry in 2000. He currently lives in Kansas City, Mo. with his wife, Cheri.