Dr. Kendra G. Hotz is the Robert R. Waller Chair of Population Health and Director of the Rhodes College Health Equity Program. She teaches courses in theology, ethics, Africana Studies, and Urban Studies. Her courses include:
- AFS 350, Race Thinking and Health Disparities
- RELS 101, The Bible and Medicine
- RELS 102, The Bible and Black Lives Matter
- RELS 232, Faith, Health, and Justice
- HLEQ 410, Health Equity and Health Disparities
- HLEQ 430, Narrative Medicine and Inequality
Dr. Hotz is the co-author of four books and a number of articles. Her research focuses on the relationship between religious belonging, social inequalities, and health. Among her books and articles are:
- Dust and Breath: Faith, Health, and Why the Church Should Care about Both (Eerdmans)
- Transforming Care: A Christian Vision of Nursing Practice (Eerdmans)
- What Do Our Neighbors Believe: Questions and Answers from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Westminster John Knox)
- Shaping the Christian Life: Worship and the Religious Affections (Westminster John Knox)
- “Big Momma Had Sugar, Imma Have it Too: Medical Fatalism and the Language of Faith among African American Women in Memphis” (Journal of Religion and Health 53:5)
- “I Can Do For Me: Race, Health, and the Rhetoric of Self-Love and Suffering” (Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric 5:2)
- “Happily Ever After: Christians Without Children” (in Encountering the Sacred, T&T Clark)
Dr. Hotz is an avid transportation cyclist who lives in downtown Memphis with her spouse Matt and their dog Argos.
Education
Ph.D. Emory University (2000)
M.Div. Candler School of Theology at Emory University (1994)
B.A. University of Evansville (1991)
M.Div. Candler School of Theology at Emory University (1994)
B.A. University of Evansville (1991)

Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Robert R. Waller Chair of Population Health