Kenneth Townsend is the Executive Director of Leadership and Character in the Professional Schools, Teaching Professor in the School of Law, and Presidential Higher Education Fellow in the Office of the President at Wake Forest University. At Wake Forest, Kenneth oversees the work of Program for Leadership and Character in the professional schools, where he works especially closely with the Schools of Law and Medicine, and he teaches courses related to law, leadership, and ethics.

His research examines the relationship between law and morality, leadership in the law, and the ethical formation of professionals. His most recent publications have focused on character-based approaches to the professional identity formation of lawyers. Beyond Wake Forest, Kenneth speaks frequently to universities, lawyers, and professional associations about the importance of character-based leadership. Prior to Wake Forest, he established and led various leadership programs in higher education, including at Millsaps College and the University of Mississippi. He has also taught courses in ethics, political theory, public policy, and constitutional law at Millsaps College, University of Mississippi, University of Oxford, Nelson Mandela University, and Yale University.

A recipient of the Truman Scholarship for Public Service and the Rhodes Scholarship, he earned a BA from Millsaps College, an MPhil from the University of Oxford, and a JD and MA from Yale University. He lives in Winston-Salem, NC with his wife and three children and spends most of his free time coaching youth sports.