Distinguished Alum 1988

March 17, 1988

Warren J. Harman

At May’s commencement, the 1988 Distinguished Alumni/ae Award was presented to Warren J. Harman by Steven E. Zekoff, Chairperson of the Alum Association. Since his graduation from Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1947, Harman has faithfully served The United Methodist Church in countless ways. He held two Midwest pastorates before becoming a member of the General Board of Christian Education, where he was Director of youth work, campus ministry, and curriculum placement for 15 years. In 1972, Harman joined the General Board of Discipleship as Executive Director of Church-School Development and Assistant Secretary of Christian Education. Since 1983, he has been Executive Secretary of Research. Over the years, Harman has been in great demand as a speaker, lecturer, and workshop leader. He is highly admired and respected in the field of research. A prolific writer, he is the author of more than one hundred articles and guidance resources in the areas of Christian Education, program planning, and leadership development. Of his writings, one associate says: ” His work, Five Audiences, has been especially helpful in the area of adult Christian Education. We will be ‘mining’ his findings for some time to come. His bi-monthly publication, Trends, is an invaluable resource for General Board and Annual Conference leaders. Because of his vast knowledge and wisdom, he has been a key resource person for the membership issues task force on the Council of Bishops.” Another colleague puts Harman’s contributions this way: ” He has used his God-given talents as a pioneer in the educational efforts of the church. He has combined knowledge and experience to bring about significant progress, and used his managerial skills to enable others to make the most of their talents at the general agency level of the denomination.” Harman received a Doctorate of Divinity in 1958 and a Bachelor of Arts in 1945 from Westmar College, where he was voted Alumnus of the Year in 1969. He was a visiting scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Teacher’s College, Columbia University, where he received a Lilly Foundation grant for study in empirical research.