David Emmanuel Goatley (born 1961) is an American theologian who has served as the President of Fuller Theological Seminary since 2023.
Goatley studied at the University of Louisville and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and was ordained a minister in the National Baptist Convention, USA. He served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Campbellsville, Kentucky before becoming CEO of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society. He was then appointed Ruth W. and A. Morris Williams Jr. Research Professor of Theology and Christian Ministry at Duke Divinity School. [1] He is Fuller's first Black president. [2]
Under Goatley's leadership, Fuller considered revising its sexual standards to become more accepting of LGBTQ+ students, [3] before eventually affirming the "historic theological understanding of marriage". [4] [5]