Dr. Fluker is Professor Emeritus of Ethical Leadership at Boston University, where he held the prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. Chair. He currently serves as Distinguished Professor at the Howard Thurman Center at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace. He is the founding director of the Andrew Young
Center for Global Leadership, where he later served as Scholar-in-Residence, and is editor of the internationally recognized Howard Thurman Papers Project Digital Edition.

Throughout his distinguished academic career, Dr. Fluker has held leadership and faculty appointments at some of the nation’s most respected institutions. These include serving as Professor and Dean of the Chapel at Dillard University; Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at Vanderbilt University Divinity School; Dean of Black Church Studies and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Professor of Theology at Colgate
Rochester Crozer Divinity School; and Coca-Cola Professor of Leadership Studies at Morehouse College. At Emory University Candler School of Theology, he served as Dean’s Professor of Spirituality, Ethics, and Leadership. He has also held visiting appointments at Harvard University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Columbia Theological Seminary.

Dr. Fluker’s global impact extends far beyond academia. He has served as consultant, lecturer, and workshop leader for foundations, universities, corporations, governmental agencies, and religious institutions around the world. His international engagements include service as Distinguished Lecturer in the International Human Rights Exchange Program, visiting professor at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, faculty at the Salzburg Global Seminar, and distinguished lecturer for U.S. Embassy programs across Africa, Asia, and beyond.

His work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the 2023 Roosevelt Institute Freedom of Worship Award, awarded alongside distinguished national leaders including Nancy Pelosi, Bennie Thompson, Tracie D. Hall, and Ady Barkan. In
2026, he and his spouse, Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker, were honored with the Beautiful Are the Feet Award from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference.

A pioneering thought leader in digital learning, Dr. Fluker created Boston University’s
groundbreaking global MOOC, Ethical Leadership: Character, Civility, and
Community, engaging more than 14,000 participants worldwide and extending his
influence to emerging leaders across sectors.

Dr. Fluker is the author and editor of numerous influential works, including Ethical
Leadership: The Quest for Character, Civility, and Community, The Ground Has Shifted,
the multi-volume The Papers of Howard Washington Thurman, and The Unfinished
Search for Common Ground. His forthcoming book, Wake Up Running: Building
Democratic Space at the Crossings (fall 2026), continues his groundbreaking
exploration of ethical leadership, democratic imagination, and the future of public life.
Dr. Fluker holds a Ph.D. in Social Ethics from Boston University, a Master of Divinity
from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy
and biblical studies from Trinity College. He has also been awarded honorary
doctorates, including the Doctor of Humanities from Lees-McRae College and the
Doctor of Laws from Boston University.

Dr. Fluker and his wife, Dr. Sharon Watson Fluker, are the proud parents of four
children and grandparents of seven.

Through Walter Earl Fluker & Associates, Dr. Fluker partners with organizations to
inspire transformative leadership, cultivate democratic and ethical spaces, and equip
leaders to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and interconnected world.