Bill ’73 and Joan Standridge ’73 Gray
William Gray ’73 and The Rev. Dr. Joan Gray ’73, are faithful servants in their respective fields – Joan in the ministry and Bill in the law. They also are generous givers to their alma mater, Presbyterian College.
Rev. Gray became one of PC’s most high-profile alumna when she was elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) at the 217th General Assembly in 2006, followed by a two-year term as the denomination’s ambassador-at-large.
Joan Gray has distinguished herself as an expert in church polity and structure and is the co-author of Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers. At the denominational level, she has put that experience to work as moderator of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission and as a member of the PCUSA’s advisory committee on the constitution, and the General Assembly’s provisional constitution committee.
She has served in several churches in the Atlanta, GA, area and taught at Columbia Theological Seminary and Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J.
After graduating from PC in 1973, Gray earned her masters of divinity at Columbia Theological in 1976 and was ordained as a minister of the Word and Sacrament in 1978. That same year, she became the first woman ordained to pastor a church in the Atlanta Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. In 1993, she earned a masters of sacred theology in spiritual direction from General Theological Seminary in New York City and a doctor of ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Gray also is the author of Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers and The Sail Boat Church: Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission and Purpose.
A former PC trustee, Bill Gray is a nationally recognized expert on employee benefits law issues who joined Ogletree Deakins in Atlanta in 1991.
He earned his juris doctor from Emory University School of Law in 1976 and added a masters of law from Emory in 1982. He served on the law review at Emory and has authored numerous articles on a variety of issues related to employment law. For many years, Bill served as an adjunct professor at Georgia State University. He has taught graduate-level courses in both the College of Business and the College of Law. He retired from the classroom in 2009.
The Grays have supported their alma mater with gifts to Celtic Cross and the PC Fund.