Dr. Corey D.B. Walker has left Virginia Union University after giving up his role as vice president and dean of the School of Theology on Dec. 31.

Instead of staying to teach at VUU as university officials said he would, Dr. Walker is moving forward as a visiting professor at the University of Richmond and also will continue as a senior fellow for religious freedom at the Religious Freedom Center in Washington.

Neither Dr. Walker nor VUU spokeswoman Pamela H. Cox could be reached for comment.

Sunni Brown, a UR spokeswoman, told the Free Press that Dr. Walker would begin teaching at UR on Monday, Jan. 14, and would not teach at any other school during his tenure at UR. She said his appointment does not have an expiration date.

In a media release, UR described Dr. Walker “as a scholar committed to a broad vision of human flourishing and planetary possibility (who) critically examines the complexities of religion, philosophy, history, culture and public life in advancing fresh perspectives on the principles and practices of democracy and the beloved community.

“His scholarship and speaking attract a broad audience, and he serves as a commentator for a number of media outlets in the United States and abroad,” the release continued.

Dr. Walker will teach in UR’s School of Arts and Sciences and in the Jepson School of Leadership Studies. UR officials said he also would be involved in research, teaching and public programming for the papers of the late Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, no relation, a VUU graduate and later resident of Chester who served as executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and chief of staff to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. He also was a sacred music historian and longtime church leader in New York City.

The Religious Freedom Center named Dr. Walker a senior fellow last year.

Along with a wide-ranging career as a professor and administrator, Dr. Walker is the author of two books, “A Noble Fight: African-American Freemasonry and the Struggle for Democracy in America” and the soon-to-be-published “Between Transcendence and History: An Essay on Religion and the Future of Democracy.”

He also has served as associate editor of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Identity and assistant editor of The Journal of the American Academy of Religion. He also has authored more than 50 published articles, essays and book chapters in scholarly journals.

He also co-directed and co-produced the documentary film “Fifeville” with artist and filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson.