Dr. Donald Martin Jr. will assume duties as Executive Vice President at Shorter University on June 1. Dr. Martin currently serves as Academic Vice President and Professor of Religion at Charleston Southern University. At Shorter, his responsibilities will include oversight of the institutional strategic planning process and the integration of faith and learning.

“We look forward to Dr. Martin and his family being part of the Shorter family,” said Shorter University President Dr. Don Dowless. “He embodies all of the qualities of a Christian scholar and has a passion for higher education.”

Martin has served in higher education administration for more than a dozen years, including work as vice president for academic affairs, interim vice president for academic affairs, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and chair of the department of religion at Charleston Southern.

Martin is the founder and pastor of Iglesia Evangelica Aposento Alto (Upper Room Evangelical Church) in Goose Creek, S.C. He has started other Spanish churches in the Lowcountry and is the founder and director of the AGAPE Bible Institute, a program for training Spanish-speaking leaders for Christian ministry in South Carolina.

He previously served as a missionary to Guatemala with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and a pastor in Texas and South Carolina. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in religion from Baylor University, a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts in religion and German from Carson-Newman College.

He and his wife, Julie, have three daughters.