The Nebraska United Methodist Foundation is pleased to welcome Rev. Dr. Richard Randolph to the team as Director of Stewardship, beginning July 1, 2023. Richard grew up in North Carolina. His father was a United Methodist minister and his mother was a school teacher.  As a youth, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts. 

Richard received his Bachelor’s degree from Duke University in North Carolina. While at Duke, Richard earned varsity letters in Cross-country and Track. He was also involved in student government at Duke, serving terms as Senator in the student legislature and as Attorney General. Following his undergraduate studies at Duke, he earned a Masters of Divinity degree and a Masters of Arts in “International and Developmental Economics,” both from Yale University in Connecticut.

Richard was ordained in the United Methodist Church and served parishes in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference for seven years. After seven years in parish ministry, Richard was appointed to return to school. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophical and Theological Ethics from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. 

As Richard’s doctoral studies were concluding, he accepted a position as Program Director at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley. After working at the Center for three years, Richard joined the faculty at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City. He taught on the faculty at Saint Paul for seven years. 

In 2007, he left Saint Paul and joined the faculty at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences (KCUMB). At KCUMB, he headed up the development and launch of a new Masters program in Bioethics, while also chairing the Bioethics Department and teaching in the medical school. 

Richard’s scholarly interests have centered primarily around issues of science and faith. He has published in journals as diverse as The Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics and the international journal, Astrobiology. He has also given invited lectures in Brazil, South Korea, and Russia. 

In 2011, Richard decided to return to parish ministry. Since then, he has served churches in Kansas and Nebraska.

Richard and his wife, LaGreer, have been married for 39 years. LaGreer is also from North Carolina, and she currently does analysis for an accountable healthcare organization, located in Crete. Their son, Justice, lives in the Washington, DC metro area with his wife, Lisa, and their 2 year-old daughter, Sophia. Justice works for Bread for the World and Lisa works for the Smithsonian. Richard and LaGreer’s daughter, Eden, also lives in Washington, where she works as a special education teacher for the DC Public Schools.

In his free time, Richard enjoys outdoor activities such as bicycling, kayaking, hiking, and camping. 

Executive Director, Kristine Roberts, adds: “We are incredibly excited to have Richard join the staff. He has an interesting background that will help the churches and ministries throughout Nebraska sustain and grow the good work they are doing.”  

If you would like to invite Richard to your church, learn more about how he can help you leave a legacy, or would just like to welcome him to the ministry work of the Foundation, please contact him after July 1st at 402-323-8844.