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DALLAS (SMU) – Priscilla Pope-Levison, Ph.D., research professor of practical theology at Perkins School of Theology at 51³Ô¹ÏÍøMethodist University (SMU), has received the 2026 Smith/Wynkoop Book Award from the Wesleyan Theological Society (WTS). The award was presented at the 2026 WTS Annual Meeting, held March 20–21 at Seattle Pacific University. Her recognition follows her book being named a Book of the Month for January by the American Society of Church History.

“This well-deserved recognition from the Wesleyan Theological Society honors not only an outstanding book, but also Dr. Pope-Levison’s enduring contribution to Wesleyan studies and to the wider understanding of women’s leadership in the history of Christianity,” said Bryan P. Stone, Leighton K. Farrell Endowed Dean of Perkins School of Theology. “We are proud to count her among the distinguished faculty of Perkins School of Theology.” 

“As someone steeped in the Wesleyan tradition from birth, a WTS book award has special meaning for me both personally and professionally,” said Pope-Levison.

Her award-winning book, No Man’s Land: The International Methodist Deaconess Movement, 1874–1918, is a groundbreaking study of a largely overlooked international movement of Methodist women. Drawing on archival sources and personal narratives, the book recovers the lives of deaconesses who served communities across multiple continents and reshapes understanding of women’s leadership in the history of Christianity.

“I hope readers will be inspired by the Christian faith and actions of these courageous women who eschewed fame, family, and fortune to live among and serve the poor and forgotten,” said Pope-Levison. “Following a call from God to become a deaconess meant for them a total devotion, a total commitment, nothing held back. May we be inspired to do the same.”

The Smith/Wynkoop Book Award recognizes outstanding scholarship in Wesleyan and Methodist studies. Pope-Levison becomes the first two-time recipient of the award, having previously been honored for her 2015 book, Building the Old Time Religion: Women Evangelists in the Progressive Era. Past recipients also include Billy Abraham, former Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies at Perkins (1995–2021), for Canon and Criterion in Christian Theology.

In addition to this recognition, Pope-Levison will lecture on May 23 at the Wesley Historical Society’s Seminar Day at Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford, and she will deliver the annual lecture for the Manchester Wesley Research Centre in Didsbury, England, on June 16. In addition, she will be the Theologian in Residence at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, from August 2-5.

Perkins School of Theology, founded in 1911, is one of five official University-related schools of theology of . Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Ministry, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Pastoral Music as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at SMU's Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.