The Daniel Alexander Payne Lecture Series was initiated in 1945 to help augment the intellectual life of the seminary and surrounding community. This program supports the work of leading African American scholars and lifts up their contribution to religion and society.

In the spring of each year, nationally acclaimed scholars come to Payne as Visiting Scholars and lecturers. In recent years, scholars delivering the Daniel Alexander Payne Lectures have included:

Randall C. Bailey, Interdenominational Theological Center

James Cone, Union Theological Seminary

Noel Erskine, Emory University

Cain Hope Felder, Howard University

Rev. Floyd Flake Allen, A.M.E. Church

Jacquelyn Grant, Interdenominational Theological Center

William Jones, Florida State University

Manning Marable, Columbia University

Renita J. Weems, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Gayraud Wilmore, Interdenominational Theological Center

Edward Wimberley, Interdenominational Theological Center