Aultman, Donald S.
Dr. Donald Sarrell Aultman (1930-2018) was the vice president and dean of Lee College from 1968 to 1972. His work was essential to the accreditation process for the four-year degree program, which was achieved in 1969.
Aultman was son of a Church of God minister and born on September 22, 1930 at Gadsden, Alabama. Just before his fifteenth birthday, Aultman enrolled in the Lee Academy (high school) in 1945. While a student, he was a member of the Vindagua yearbook staff (included as advertising manager), the campus newspaper staff (including as business manager), the Student Council, the Robed Choir, and the Music, Literary, Home Economics, and Glee clubs. He was selected as “Most Talented” male student his senior year of the high school. He graduated from the Academy in 1948.
His ministry began at age 18 when he served as a minister of music. In 1950 he received ministerial credentials with the Church of God and became the state director of Youth and Christian education in Texas at age 20. The following year he accepted his first pastorate at Wichita Falls, Texas, before serving as state director of Youth and Christian Education in Michigan and Florida. He was ordained in 1956. Four years later, at age 30, he was elected to serve the Church of God as national assistant director of Youth and Christian Education (1960-64). He then was elected as the national general director, one of the youngest ever elected to that position by the denomination, and served four years (1964-68).
Always a lover of music, Aultman sang in a trio for the Church of God’s premier radio program, “Forward in Faith”, when it began in 1958. “The Forward in Faith Trio”, later renamed “The Minister’s Trio”, included Bennie S. Triplett, Roosevelt Miller, and Donald Aultman. They were a popular at Church of God meetings, assemblies, and local churches and made several recordings of their songs.
In 1968 he returned to Lee as vice president and dean of the college. It has been more than 15 years since Lee had a vice president position, and Aultman was the first to fill it since Earl Tapley left Lee in 1952. With the restructuring at Lee in preparation for the four-year degree program as a liberal arts college being reviewed for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), this position and Aultman’s expertise became vital.
After graduation from high school at Lee Academy in 1949, Aultman had earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from Samford University and completed the Doctor of Education degree in Educational Psychology at The University of Tennessee soon after his appointment as vice president at Lee. Aultman’s duties at Lee included assisting the president and fulfilling the duties of that role in the president’s absence, as well as coordinating curriculum development and class scheduling, evaluating transcripts of transfer students, and overseeing the academic affairs of the college. Aultman also taught psychology courses and maintained a keen interest in a student-centered approach to the college educational experience, especially by assisting students with counseling and guidance. He advocated for more student participation in the academic process and he helped pilot the new four-year program toward full accreditation with an innovative and open approach to academic curriculum development and increased course offerings.
In 1972, Aultman left Lee when appointed by the Church of God as state overseer of Northern California and Nevada, where he served for two years. He then worked for more than 20 years in the financial services industry, including as senior vice president of Financial Service Corporation of Atlanta, Georgia, and as president of Sun America Planning Corporation in Los Angeles, California.
He also served as president of the Psychological Studies Institute (PSI, and now Richmont Graduate University) in Atlanta from 1991 to 1998, during which time he was instrumental in facilitating a merger with the Chattanooga Bible Institute to open another campus for PSI in Chattanooga.
Aultman returned to full-time denominational work with the Church of God in 1996 when appointed as director of the School of Ministry, a new platform for ministerial preparation. In this role he helped develop a distance education initiative to facilitate the Certificate and Ministerial Studies (CIMS) program. Two years later, he was appointed vice chancellor of the Church of God Division of Education (1998-2006) and then as chancellor (2006-2010). He immediately led the merger of the Church of God’s Ministerial Development and the School of Ministry. In 2010, Aultman was appointed as president and CEO of the Church of God Foundation, which position he held until his retirement in 2014.
Among his other contributions to the Church of God include serving as chairman of the board of directors of West Coast Bible College, conducting vital research for the denomination’s Executive Committee for developing a theological seminary, and serving as a member of the first board of directors for that seminary (now the Pentecostal Theological Seminary). He Dr. Aultman authored and contributed to ten books and throughout his life remained an advocate for quality ministerial education and preparation. He also remained a generous supporter and ardent advocate for Lee University.
Aultman was married to Winona Cook (1933-2021), a graduate of Lee College who also was an accompanist for the Lee College Chorale and organist for the Forward and Faith radio program and The Minister’s Trio. She served as organist and pianist at the North Cleveland Church of God in Tennessee for and taught elementary school and piano lessons locally for many years. They had two daughters, Melodie and Melissa. Aultman died on March 19, 2018. His funeral service was held at the Chapel on the Lee University campus, and he is buried at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Cleveland, Tennessee.
/ L.F. Morgan
Aultman was son of a Church of God minister and born on September 22, 1930 at Gadsden, Alabama. Just before his fifteenth birthday, Aultman enrolled in the Lee Academy (high school) in 1945. While a student, he was a member of the Vindagua yearbook staff (included as advertising manager), the campus newspaper staff (including as business manager), the Student Council, the Robed Choir, and the Music, Literary, Home Economics, and Glee clubs. He was selected as “Most Talented” male student his senior year of the high school. He graduated from the Academy in 1948.
His ministry began at age 18 when he served as a minister of music. In 1950 he received ministerial credentials with the Church of God and became the state director of Youth and Christian education in Texas at age 20. The following year he accepted his first pastorate at Wichita Falls, Texas, before serving as state director of Youth and Christian Education in Michigan and Florida. He was ordained in 1956. Four years later, at age 30, he was elected to serve the Church of God as national assistant director of Youth and Christian Education (1960-64). He then was elected as the national general director, one of the youngest ever elected to that position by the denomination, and served four years (1964-68).
Always a lover of music, Aultman sang in a trio for the Church of God’s premier radio program, “Forward in Faith”, when it began in 1958. “The Forward in Faith Trio”, later renamed “The Minister’s Trio”, included Bennie S. Triplett, Roosevelt Miller, and Donald Aultman. They were a popular at Church of God meetings, assemblies, and local churches and made several recordings of their songs.
In 1968 he returned to Lee as vice president and dean of the college. It has been more than 15 years since Lee had a vice president position, and Aultman was the first to fill it since Earl Tapley left Lee in 1952. With the restructuring at Lee in preparation for the four-year degree program as a liberal arts college being reviewed for accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), this position and Aultman’s expertise became vital.
After graduation from high school at Lee Academy in 1949, Aultman had earned the Bachelor of Arts degree from Samford University and completed the Doctor of Education degree in Educational Psychology at The University of Tennessee soon after his appointment as vice president at Lee. Aultman’s duties at Lee included assisting the president and fulfilling the duties of that role in the president’s absence, as well as coordinating curriculum development and class scheduling, evaluating transcripts of transfer students, and overseeing the academic affairs of the college. Aultman also taught psychology courses and maintained a keen interest in a student-centered approach to the college educational experience, especially by assisting students with counseling and guidance. He advocated for more student participation in the academic process and he helped pilot the new four-year program toward full accreditation with an innovative and open approach to academic curriculum development and increased course offerings.
In 1972, Aultman left Lee when appointed by the Church of God as state overseer of Northern California and Nevada, where he served for two years. He then worked for more than 20 years in the financial services industry, including as senior vice president of Financial Service Corporation of Atlanta, Georgia, and as president of Sun America Planning Corporation in Los Angeles, California.
He also served as president of the Psychological Studies Institute (PSI, and now Richmont Graduate University) in Atlanta from 1991 to 1998, during which time he was instrumental in facilitating a merger with the Chattanooga Bible Institute to open another campus for PSI in Chattanooga.
Aultman returned to full-time denominational work with the Church of God in 1996 when appointed as director of the School of Ministry, a new platform for ministerial preparation. In this role he helped develop a distance education initiative to facilitate the Certificate and Ministerial Studies (CIMS) program. Two years later, he was appointed vice chancellor of the Church of God Division of Education (1998-2006) and then as chancellor (2006-2010). He immediately led the merger of the Church of God’s Ministerial Development and the School of Ministry. In 2010, Aultman was appointed as president and CEO of the Church of God Foundation, which position he held until his retirement in 2014.
Among his other contributions to the Church of God include serving as chairman of the board of directors of West Coast Bible College, conducting vital research for the denomination’s Executive Committee for developing a theological seminary, and serving as a member of the first board of directors for that seminary (now the Pentecostal Theological Seminary). He Dr. Aultman authored and contributed to ten books and throughout his life remained an advocate for quality ministerial education and preparation. He also remained a generous supporter and ardent advocate for Lee University.
Aultman was married to Winona Cook (1933-2021), a graduate of Lee College who also was an accompanist for the Lee College Chorale and organist for the Forward and Faith radio program and The Minister’s Trio. She served as organist and pianist at the North Cleveland Church of God in Tennessee for and taught elementary school and piano lessons locally for many years. They had two daughters, Melodie and Melissa. Aultman died on March 19, 2018. His funeral service was held at the Chapel on the Lee University campus, and he is buried at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Cleveland, Tennessee.
/ L.F. Morgan