Motto Religio et Eruditio Established 1823 Students 4,259 Acceptance rate 68.6% (2014) Phone +1 731-668-1818 Colors Cream, Cardinal | Type Private Academic staff 230 Undergraduate tuition and fees 28,150 USD (2015) Mascot Buster Graduation rate 64.9% (2014) | |
Affiliation Tennessee Baptist Convention Address 1050 Union University Dr, Jackson, TN 38305, USA Notable alumni Steve Gaines, Howell Edmunds Jackson, William E Troutt, Pauline LaFon Gore, Charles N Millican Similar Freed–Hardeman University, Union College, Lee University, Lane College, University of Memphis Profiles | ||
Union university engage inspire unite
Union University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located in Jackson, Tennessee, with additional campuses in Germantown and Hendersonville. The university is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and relates to the Southern Baptist Convention.
Contents
- Union university engage inspire unite
- Union university welcome week 2016
- Accreditation and affiliation
- Rankings
- Early history
- The Craig and Barefoot Administrations
- David S Dockerys Administration
- The Storm February 5 2008
- Samuel W Dub Olivers Administration
- Jackson facilities
- Germantown facilities
- Hendersonville facilities
- Housing
- Athletics
- Greek system
- Fraternities
- Sororities
- Academic
- Publications
- Annual Scholarship Banquet
- Union Forum
- Alumni
- Faculty and administration
- References
Union is one of the top tier institutions in the Southern Region, listed for each of the past 19 years by U.S. News & World Report, and is notable for having trained a United States Supreme Court justice, and in the sports world as the place where Bear Bryant began his football coaching career.
Union University is the heir to some of the oldest universities in the Southeast. The school is a union of several different schools: West Tennessee College, formerly known as Jackson Male Academy, Union University of Murfreesboro, Southwestern Baptist University, and Hall-Moody Junior College of Martin, Tennessee.
Union university welcome week 2016
Accreditation and affiliation
Union University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). On July 14, 2013, Union University announced that its Business Program had earned accreditation from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
Union University has been a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). In August 2015, Union notified CCCU that the university would be withdrawing its membership as a result of two member schools changing their policies to hire individuals in a same-sex relationship.
Rankings
For 2015, U.S. News ranked Union 14th among "Regional Universities" in the South, the 19th consecutive year U.S. News ranked Union as a top-tier school. It has been recognized by Peterson's Competitive College Guide, the Time/Princeton Review, and Templeton's Colleges that Encourage Character Development. Union is a recipient of the President's Higher Education Community Service Award and has been listed as one of America's Top 100 College Buys. In addition, U.S. News has cited Union as an "A+ option for serious B students," among "Up and Coming Schools" and among schools "where the faculty has an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching."
Union is also recognized in:
Early history
Jackson Male Academy was founded in 1823 just after West Tennessee was opened for settlement. Only five years earlier in 1818 was the land purchased from the Chickasaw Indians.
In 1907, Dr. T.T. Eaton, a trustee of Southwestern Baptist University, left his 6,000 volume library to the college. Eaton was a former professor of Union University at Murfreesboro, where his father, Dr. Joseph H. Eaton, was a former president.
Southwestern soon changed its name to Union University in honor of the Eatons and others from Union at Murfreesboro who had impacted Southwestern as faculty, administrators, trustees, and contributors.
In 1925 the Tennessee Baptist Convention secured a charter that vested the rights, authority, and property of Union University in the Tennessee Convention. This charter included the election of the University’s trustees. Two years later, the Convention consolidated Hall-Moody Junior College at Martin (1900–1927) with Union University; the former Hall-Moody campus subsequently became the location of the University of Tennessee Junior College, now the University of Tennessee at Martin.
In 1948 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools granted Union University accreditation.
In 1962 Union developed a nursing program with the assistance of Jackson-Madison County General Hospital at the request of local physicians.
In 1975 Union moved from downtown Jackson, Tennessee, to a new campus located near the Highway 45-Bypass in north Jackson.
The Craig and Barefoot Administrations
During President Robert Craig (1967–85) and President Hyran Barefoot's (1987–1996) administrations:
From the early 1950s to the early 1970s, Union operated an Extension Center in the Memphis area. From 1987-95, Union offered the degree-completion program leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN track) in Memphis. At that time there were over 300 graduates of this program.
David S. Dockery's Administration
David S. Dockery was elected as the fifteenth president of Union University in December 1995. Dockery brought a desire to take Union to a more rigorous, conservative path. During his administration, which lasted until 2014, he realized:
The Storm - February 5, 2008
On February 5, 2008, at 7:02 p.m., the university was struck by an EF4 tornado, with winds between 166–200 miles per hour. The tornado destroyed 18 dormitory buildings and caused over $40 million worth of damage to the campus, which suffered a direct hit, rendering almost 80% of the dormortory space to be either totally destroyed or unlivable. None of the approximately 1,800 students on campus at the time were killed. David Dockery, the president of the University, said:
I'm convinced-nobody will ever convince me otherwise-that God's angels were unleashed to come as ministering spirits to protect those students in the most precarious of situations.
Fifty-one students were taken to Jackson-Madison General Hospital. While most students were released after being treated, nine were kept overnight. Some students were trapped for hours while emergency crews worked to rescue them. A total of 31 buildings received damage of varying degrees. The devastation captured nationwide attention and was featured by CNN, Fox News, The New York Times and numerous regional news outlets. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, FEMA Director R. David Paulison and Governor of Tennessee Phil Bredesen all visited the campus after the disaster.
The Commercial Appeal reported that due to extensive damage, the campus would not reopen until February 18. Lambuth University, a rival area university, reportedly offered to open its dormitories to displaced Union students. The congregation of Englewood Baptist Church, which owned the Old English Inn in Jackson, voted unanimously to open the Inn to Union students. The church's move accommodated almost 300 students until December 2008. The University also expected that around 200 students would be housed in the private homes of Union faculty, staff and friends.
The February 5, 2008 event was the second time in just over five years that the campus was hit by a tornado. On the evening of November 10, 2002, during the Veterans Day Weekend tornado outbreak, the school was struck by an F1 tornado, with winds of approximately 100 miles per hour, which did approximately 2 million dollars worth of damage to the school. There were no serious injuries. Union president David Dockery stated that the February 5, 2008 tornado was about 15 times as bad at the 2002 tornado. The damage caused by the February 5th tornado was estimated at $40 million.
Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver's Administration
Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver became Union University's sixteenth president in June 2014. His career at Baylor University and five-year presidency at East Texas Baptist University equipped him to lead Union University toward fully realizing its mission and values.
Thus far in his presidency, he has achieved:
Jackson facilities
The campus is 290 acres (1.2 km2) and includes a 2,200-seat gymnasium, dormitories for men and women including a married housing complex, separate lodges for the fraternities and sororities, academic halls, an administration center, baseball and softball parks, two soccer fields, an indoor swimming pool, and wellness center.
Germantown facilities
Union also has a 35-acre (140,000 m2) campus in Germantown, Tennessee, (suburban Memphis) offering graduate degrees in business, education, Christian studies & nursing. The degrees in education include the M.Ed., M.A.Ed., Ed.S., and Ed.D.
Hendersonville facilities
Union's newest location is in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. This campus offers graduate degrees in education and Christian studies.
Housing
In Jackson, Union has apartment-style living. Each student has a separate private bedroom that shares a common living space with three roommates. All apartments feature a high-speed Internet connection, as well as kitchen unit. Some apartments feature private phone lines or a washer and dryer. All private living spaces have a window and the common areas have cable TV access. There is no student housing at the Germantown campus. Temporary off campus housing was at The Jett (the former Old English Inn) for the majority of the spring 2008 semester.
Athletics
Union University teams, nicknamed athletically as the Bulldogs, are part of the NCAA Division II level, primarily competing in the Gulf South Conference as provisional members. The Bulldogs used to be part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), competing in the TranSouth Athletic Conference (TSAC). Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, softball and volleyball.
Union began the three-year transition to full NCAA Division II membership in 2011.
The women's basketball team won NAIA national championships during the 1998, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 seasons.
Union also claimed NCCAA National Titles in men's soccer (2003), volleyball (2003), and softball (2001, 2002, 2004, 2013).
Greek system
There are six social fraternities and sororities on campus, two music fraternities and numerous academic fraternities.
Each of these groups is relatively large in size relative to the size of the institution and consistently contributes to philanthropies, both regionally and globally. The number of members in the social fraternities can range between 50 and 80 members per chapter.
The fraternities and sororities are an active presence on campus through philanthropy, intramural sports and Greek Olympics.
Fraternities
The fraternities represented on campus are:
Sororities
The sororities represented on campus are:
Academic
The academic fraternities are:
Publications
Annual Scholarship Banquet
Union's Scholarship Banquet has brought prominent national and international figures to Union including: former president George H.W. Bush, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Russian president and Nobel Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former Senator Bob Dole, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, former British Prime Minister John Major, Tony Blair, and Winston S. Churchill, Grandson of the former British Prime Minister.
Union Forum
Union's Forum is an annual speaker series that has brought several national figures to Union, including Peggy Wehmeyer, William Kristol, Michael Medved, Robert Novak, Stephen Carter, Morton Kondracke, Clarence Page, Juan Williams, and Margaret Carlson.