Donald B. Kraybill served as chair of the Sociology and Social Work Department at Elizabethtown College from 1979 to 1985 and as director of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies from 1989 to 1996. He served as provost of Messiah College (Pa.) from 1996 to 2002 before returning to Elizabethtown College in 2003, where he is distinguished college professor and senior fellow at the Young Center, and holds a joint appointment in the departments of sociology and religious studies.

Nationally recognized for his scholarship on Anabaptist groups, Kraybill is the author or editor of more than 20 books and dozens of professional articles. His books have been translated into six different languages and his research on Anabaptist groups has been featured in magazines, newspapers, and on radio and television programs across the United States and in many foreign countries.