New Director of Academic Studies Appointed

St Padarn’s is delighted to announce the Appointment of Revd Dr Stephen Roberts as Director of Academic Studies

Director of Academic Studies is a new post within St Padarn’s that will be a member of the Senior Leadership Team, and responsible for all of the institute’s academic programmes.

Stephen is currently Tutor in Practical Theology and Mission at Cardiff Baptist College, and Honorary Lecturer in Cardiff University, prior to which he has a wide range of experience with theology, higher education, and Christian ministry. Growing up in London, he studied theology at King’s College London before training for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He served his curacy in London Diocese (Kilburn and West Hampstead) and was a Team Vicar in Uxbridge, West London, before serving as Chaplain to Brunel University. He came to Wales in 2004 to be Vice Principal and Dean of Residential Training at St Michael’s College, Llandaff. From 2012 to 2018 he was Senior Lecturer in Modern Theology in the University of Chichester, before taking up his current appointment in 2019. Alongside his current role he is Moderator for the Interfaith Theological Advisory Group for Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and is Chair of the British and Irish Association of Practical Theology. He has written widely on theology in dialogue with music as well as on chaplaincy studies, interfaith relations, and practical theology.

Stephen said of his appointment: “I am really excited about this opportunity to help shape the academic life of St Padarn’s as a theological resource for the Church in Wales and beyond; and I feel incredibly privileged to have the chance to do that with such a talented and creative group of colleagues.”

Canon Professor Jeremy Duff, Principal of St Padarn's, said: “Stephen Roberts brings all that we were hoping for in a Director of Academic Studies. He has deep experience as a theologian within an academic context, working in multiple colleges and for different universities for over twenty-five years. He understands the contemporary challenges and opportunities within the HE sector. At the same time, he has served as parish priest and has deep roots in the Church in Wales. This breadth of experience ensures that academic studies in St Padarn’s will always be orientated towards service of the Church, and that he can play a full part as a member of the senior leadership team at St Padarn’s”.

Stephen takes up his new post on 1 April 2026