Alyce McKenzie, Ph.D. wears many hats- professor, preacher and author. She is the Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and co-directs the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at SMU. In 2011 she was award the Altshuler Distinguished Professor award, SMU’s highest teaching honor.

An ordained United Methodist elder, Dr. McKenzie served churches in her native Pennsylvania for 13 years before coming to Perkins. Dr. McKenzie is a sought-after preacher and workshop leader. She is the author and/or editor of multiple books, articles, and essays focusing on the Bible’s wisdom literature and the role of imagination and humor in preaching. Dr. McKenzie’s books can be viewed on her Amazon Author Page, and visit YouTube to see her sermon playlist. She is currently working on the topic of preaching the companionship of Christ in a cultural context of isolation and loneliness.  

Dr. McKenzie was the president of the Academy of Homiletics (2012), the 2015 Lyman Beecher Lecturer at Yale Divinity School, and the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate from Aquinas Institute of Theology (2022).

Dr. McKenzie counts it a privilege to serve as co-director of the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at SMU, whose goal is to create workshops, courses, and peer learning groups that inspire creative, compelling preaching in local congregations.