Started UPSem 2012: Rev. Dr. Doug Harr (MDiv 2018)

  1. Started UPSem 2002: Rev. Lori Raible (MDiv 2006)
  2. Started UPSem 2003: Rev. Dr. Ophelia Garmon-Brown (MDiv 2008)
  3. Started UPSem 2004: Rev. Nadine Ellsworth-Moran (MDiv / MACE 2011)
  4. Started UPSem 2005: Rev. Noe Juarez-Loayza (MDiv 2010)
  5. Started UPSem 2006: Rev. Lorenzo Small (MDiv 2013)
  6. Started UPSem 2007: Rev. Ken Fuquay (MACE 2011 / MDiv 2015)
  7. Started UPSem 2008: Rev. Jonathan Davis (MDiv 2014) 
  8. Started UPSem 2009: Rev. British Hyrams (MDiv/MACE 2016)
  9. Started UPSem 2010: Rev. Charmaine Smith (MDiv 2017)
  10. Started UPSem 2011: Rev. Vikki Brogdon (MDiv 2016)
  11. Started UPSem 2012: Rev. Dr. Doug Harr (MDiv 2018)
  12. Started UPSem 2013: Martin Pruitt (MDiv 2018 / MACE 2019)
  13. Started UPSem 2014: Rev. William Joseph “Joey” Haynes III (MDiv 2019)
  14. Started UPSem 2015: Rev. Gail Henderson-Belsito (MDiv 2020)
  15. Started UPSem 2016: Rev. Eric Tang (MDiv 2021)
  16. Started UPSem 2017: Rev. Marina Luckhoo (pursuing MDiv)
  17. Started UPSem 2018: Jason Smith
  18. Started UPSem 2019: Ryan Atkinson
  19. Started UPSem 2020: Sedae Slaughter (pursuing MACE)
  20. Started UPSem 2021: Matt Wiedle (pursuing MDiv and MACE)

The following is part of a series of 20 profiles that represent each year that Charlotte has been enrolling students. 

Pastor
Riverside United Methodist Church
New Bern, North Carolina

Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Rev. Dr. Doug Harr (MDiv 2018) was a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, serving in Hawaii, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri, Korea, and Japan. Prior to answering a call to ministry, he attended the University of Missouri for both undergraduate and graduate degrees while adding an additional graduate degree from Central Michigan University. Those early studies led Harr to a variety of careers. Working in fields from health care to higher education, Harr answered a call to ministry not as a second career but as a fourth or fifth.

Harr chose the Charlotte campus because it allowed him to continue serving a congregation near his home as a student pastor while enrolled. Also, Union Presbyterian Seminary is an approved seminary of the University Senate of The United Methodist Church. Not every seminary is approved by the UMC. This approved status allows United Methodists to attend the seminary and seek ordination. As Harr describes it, “The seminary’s approval by my denomination allowed me to continue to serve as pastor while attending seminary.” This approval by another denomination also ensured that his experience at UPSem Charlotte had some added diversity, a diversity he appreciated. “UPSem Charlotte also allowed me the opportunity to attend seminary with fellow seminarians from different denominations and backgrounds.”

The diversity of the student body and the campus environs in Charlotte are nurtured by intentional fellowship, a fellowship that, as Harr remembers, allows strong and enduring relationships to form. Also, Harr appreciates the convenience of the Charlotte campus and what that campus affords. “The Charlotte campus offers a beautiful environment and location that allows many an opportunity to attend seminary that they would not have if it did not exist.” Summarizing his experience on the Charlotte campus, he recalls, “UPSem is a challenging and wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in your faith, knowledge, and love for God and others.”

Regularly engaged in the community encircling his church in New Bern, Harr remains involved in many community services. Looking to expand his call into more work in clinical pastoral care, he currently serves a congregation and works as a clinical chaplain.