Buck Named President and CEO of United Church Funds

The Rev. Charles Buck is the new president and CEO of United Church Funds.

The United Church Funds Board of Directors today (Jan. 18) announced the election of the Rev. Charles Buck as the new president and CEO of the United Church Funds (UCF), the institutional investment ministry of the United Church of Christ (UCC). Buck will succeed Donald G. Hart, who announced his retirement in January 2018.

Buck’s leadership with the UCC has spanned 30 years in local church, conference and national settings. He has served as pastor of churches in Northern California and Hawai’i for more than 15 years, then as conference minister for Hawai’i and New Hampshire for a total of 14 years.

Buck’s knowledge of UCF extends back to 2011, when he served as a UCF board member, including two years as chair. During his board tenure, he served on UCF’s audit, budget, social responsibility and governance committees. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a Masters of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He will become president/CEO-elect on March 25, 2019, and will work alongside Mr. Hart until his retirement.

“Rev. Buck is known for being a strategic thinker, an effective communicator, and a consensus builder with a firm understanding of investments,” said the Rev. Kathryn Dwyer, UCF board chair, who also chaired the presidential search committee. “We are delighted to find a candidate who has knowledge and experience with investments as well as the passion for, commitment to, and understanding of the wider church.” Dwyer is the senior pastor of Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ in Arlington, Va.

The Rev. John C. Dorhauer, UCC general minister and president, said, “Rev. Buck is widely recognized as one of our gifted leaders. He is a leader of great integrity, wisdom, intellect, and devotion, who will apply all those skills to the management of UCF. We offer our prayers for him in the time of transition, and for the fruits of his labor in this new position.”

Buck said, “I am excited and honored to be joining the excellent and professional staff of United Church Funds. As a client and board member, I have long admired UCF’s solid investment performance and its leadership in the world of socially responsible investing. In this new role, I look forward to continuing and growing the ministry of faith-aligned investing with our churches, conferences and national setting ministries.”

Dwyer said that Buck was chosen from among a diverse and talented pool of applicants. He was unanimously recommended by the Search Committee and elected by the Board of Directors.