Franklin Nutting Parker (May 20, 1867 – March 1, 1954) was the second dean of Candler School of Theology, serving from 1919 to 1937.
Parker served in churches throughout Louisiana until 1911 when he left to become the professor of Biblical literature at Trinity College in Durham, North Carolina (now known as Duke University).
Tensions had existed in the Durham administration of Candler School of Theology, but they became a crucial problem for Dean Parker.
The church's suspicions of Candler were based primarily on the theological liberalism of Professors Sledd, Smart and Shelton.
[1] Methodist ministers in the Southeastern Jurisdiction of the church created an endowment fund for a named professorship in 1940.