Melody Maxwell serves as Professor in the Hannah Maria Norris Chair of World Christian History and Women in Ministry at Acadia Divinity College, where she has served since 2018. Alongside other courses in Christian history and Baptist studies, her favourite course to teach is Women in the Christian Tradition.  

Melody’s research interests include Baptist history, women in ministry, missions history, and global Baptists. She is the author of numerous articles as well as two books: Doing the Word: Southern Baptists’ Carver School of Social Work and Its Predecessors, 1907-1997 (co-authored with Laine Scales) and The Woman I Am: Southern Baptist Women’s Writings, 1906–2006. She has edited multiple books, including volumes one and two of East Coast Theology. 

Before coming to ADC, Melody previously worked at Howard Payne University, East Texas Baptist University, Samford University, and the Woman’s Missionary Union. She holds degrees from Union University, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, and the University of Wales (International Baptist Theological Seminary).

Melody serves as Director of the Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies (ACBAS) and Director of the International Conference on Baptist Studies, among other leadership roles. In 2020 she received the Acadia Students’ Union Teaching Recognition Award, and she has also received multiple grants to fund her research.

Melody is originally from Tennessee, where her family resides. She enjoys traveling and outdoor activities and has visited more than 50 countries.