Union University President David Dockery has moved the school forward and fostered change while keeping a focus on education in a Christian environment.

For years, George Guthrie met with puzzled looks at national meetings for biblical scholars when he told people he was from Union University.

Lately, though, reaction has changed from "Where's that?" to "What's happening there now?"

The answer: a lot. Enrollment is booming, new buildings are going up across campus and students are signing up for an array of new courses. Efforts to incorporate rigorous Christian thinking across the curriculum have drawn praise from nationally known religious leaders, including Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson.

Guthrie, who chairs the Christian studies department, is quick to credit the changes to David Dockery, who became the school's 15th president in 1996.

"David Dockery is the most significant thing to happen in the school's history," Guthrie said. "It's an exciting time to be here."

Under his leadership, the school has set out to appeal to the larger evangelical community while remaining true to its Southern Baptist heritage. The 50-year-old Dockery is also raising the school's profile by bringing in world-renowned leaders and pundits to speak at community forums. Most reflect his conservative views.

Recently appointed to the board of directors of Christianity Today International, he also has been named vice chairman of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.

Late last year, he oversaw the release of "Shaping a Christian Worldview," a book of essays by Union faculty members on applying faith to various disciplines. The book is part of a push to get people thinking about their faith in ways that extend beyond personal piety.

While Dockery wants Union to retain its emphasis on teaching, he's encouraging faculty to do research and has recruited top-notch scholars for new positions. There are new programs in physics, ethics, intercultural studies and other areas. In 1997, the school opened a branch campus in Germantown.

For the past six years, Union has been listed among the top tier institutions in the South.

Whether the momentum can keep going remains to be seen. Despite recent fund-raising success - including already raising $49 million for a $60 million building campaign - school leaders worry about being able to continue to raise large sums. Always a challenge, it's even more of one in troubled economic times.

"Our potential donors are losing money rather than making money," said Provost Carla Sanderson.

The predominately white campus is also struggling to recruit more minority students, though strides have been made. Other challenges include getting students and faculty united in thinking about their faith in fresh ways and continuing to turn grand ideas into reality.

Claude Pressnell Jr., president of the Tennessee Independent Colleges & Universities Association, said the changes at Union in recent years have been remarkable. The growth is a result of the clear mission school leaders have fostered that blends solid academics with robust faith, he said.

"They know clearly who they are and what they're doing, and people are attracted to that," Pressnell said. "There are a number of colleges struggling with identity and finding a niche. There's a danger in the higher education community to try to be all things to all people."

Pressnell said evangelical schools nationwide are interested in replicating what Union is doing.

In Jackson, people are taking notice of Dockery's interest in building bridges with different groups in the community.

"He understands the responsibility that higher education has to to the community," said Melvin Wright, a black dentist whom Dockery recruited to sit on an advisory committee at Union. "If he asks you to do something, you do your darndest to do it."

Wright said he's impressed with the school's efforts to make minorities feel at home at Union. He also has been struck by the big-name speakers who have come to Union, something he said is unusual for a city the size of Jackson.

The lineup has included political leaders such as Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Colin Powell and commentators such as William Kristol and John Leo. Dockery made headlines in 2000 when he invited former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to speak at Union.

The forums "speak well for the school as well as the community," said Clark Shaw, CEO of Casey Jones Village.

Gorbachev dined on Tennessee country ham at the Old Country Store at Casey Jones Village during his visit to Jackson. Today, his chair from the dinner is displayed on the wall in the Heritage Room along with pictures of past United States presidents and Confederate soldiers.

In an essay defending bringing Gorbachev to the school, Dockery said Christians need to become more educated about the world and get out of their "evangelical ghetto mentality."

That Dockery has accomplished so much in a short amount of time comes as no surprise to R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

"He has a very bold vision for Christian higher education and that's what drives him," Mohler said.

Before coming to Union, Dockery served at the seminary as a professor, dean of the school of theology and as vice president for academic administration.

Mohler said Dockery's sharp mind, administrative skills and ability to work well with people make him a rarity.

In a 1996 interview with the Unionite, a school magazine, Dockery said his hobbies include watching athletic events and listening to all kinds of music from J.S. Bach to Garth Brooks.

"But I have to confess that readings in theology, history and higher education are very satisfying - even fun," he said.

His admirers at Union say they respect his intelligence and his ability to communicate his ideas with clarity and patience.

Kina Mallard, who chairs the communication arts department, said Dockery's leadership has influenced her to stay at the school longer than she had intended.

"He makes it hard to leave," said Mallard, who came to the school more than 10 years ago.

Mallard said Dockery sets high standards while also boosting people's confidence.

Among the newer faculty members is Don Van, who came to Union two years ago to serve as the department chairman for the school's new engineering department.

A former manager of environmental affairs for the Pfizer Corporation in New Jersey, Van wanted to give something back to society and work in a Christian environment.

"I definitely found that here," said Van, who learned about Union while browsing the Internet. "I can't wait to come to work in the morning."

Then there's Richard Joiner, the music department chairman who came to Union last year from Mississippi College, a sister Baptist institution.

Nearing 60, Joiner had been at Mississippi College for 22 years. Making the decision to leave was tough, he said, but he was drawn by the chance to work with people with common views. Mississippi College has lost some of its direction, he said.

"Union was so focused, I found it refreshing," he said. "It's difficult to get a college full of Ph.Ds to espouse such a singular idea."

That doesn't mean there's not an opportunity for discussion, he said.

"There's room for thought and exploring different ideas about why we believe what we believe."

Evangelical schools have long contended with the image that they have stifling atmospheres and fail to produce well-rounded students. Some of the most stinging criticism has come from within their own ranks.

In 1994, Wheaton College professor and historian Mark Noll published a book called "The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind." In the book, Noll took his fellow evangelicals to task for being too parochial and failing to develop a broad base of learning. Wheaton College is a nondenominational Christian school in Illinois.

School leaders who try to broaden their curriculum sometimes meet with resistance, Noll said in an interview.

"A new focus is going to cause new questions," he said.

Noll said he thinks Union University has good personnel in place and is well-positioned to make a difference. Other Baptist schools, such as Baylor University in Texas, are taking similar promising steps, he said.

David Gushee, an associate professor of moral philosophy at Union, has written a book about the Holocaust and is a columnist for Beliefnet.com and The Jackson Sun. He came to the school in 1996 after working with Dockery at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as an ethics professor.

In his classes, he tries to get students to consider a holistic understanding of Christian moral obligation, including the concept of social justice.

"The main obstacle is simply that it is not something that most students have ever been exposed to before coming to Union," said Gushee. "But I find them quite teachable."

Mary Anne Poe has encountered similar challenges with her students. Poe is a social work professor whose husband, Hal, is a professor of faith and culture and a former administrator at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

"On occasion, students have not wanted to major in social work, usually because their parents think it is too liberal," Poe said. "The challenge at Union with students is helping them embrace both the evangelistic needs and the social and emotional needs of the people they work with."

The emphasis on a more holistic understanding of the Christian faith has been a welcome change for David Burke, the theater director who has been at Union for more than 15 years.

Burke said he came to the school with that understanding of the faith, but felt like a bit of an outsider until recently.

"The theater has always been a stepchild in the evangelical world," said Burke, who attends a nondenominational church.

Not everyone on the faculty is as enthused about recent changes, Burke said. Some are reluctant to learn more about how to approach the curriculum with a holistic mindset, he said.

Burke said he's heartened by the growing number of students coming to Union from different types of Christian backgrounds, giving the school a greater sense of diversity.

With more students coming from overseas as well as across the United States, the school also is seeing more students are who are not Christians. Others are testing the faith.

Senior Andy Davidson said the chance to explore Christianity was a factor for him in considering the school, though the biggest draw was a chance to play on the school's baseball team. Davidson, who grew up in Minnesota, came from a family in which religion was rarely discussed.

Davidson, a business management major, said he likes the small class sizes at Union and the attention he receives from professors.

"They all know your name and seem to care about you," he said.

Most of Union's professors are Baptist, but a growing number are from Methodist, Presbyterian and other traditions. There is one Catholic on the faculty who has been at the school for more than 10 years.

During the application process, professors must provide a statement detailing their Christian convictions. Each year, they must affirm that they understand the school is affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

School leaders say they have no intention on watering down the school's Christian focus and Baptist ties.

"For Union to gain more attention in the national spotlight, we need to be more rigorous in our theological convictions, not less so," said Greg Thornbury, an assistant professor of Christian studies who worked closely with Dockery in compiling the essays for "Shaping a Christian Worldview."

Larry Stewart, a former vice president for development at Union, said strong convictions are what has inspired people to donate money to the school. He's hopeful that's what will continue to inspire them despite a rocky economy.

"People will support a university with a great mission and a great purpose," he said. "They're not going to give you money because you need it. They're going to give you money because there are programs worthy of support."

Stewart, who still does consulting work for the school, was originally opposed to Dockery's appointment because of concerns about his fund-raising abilities. After working with him for less than a year, he told him, 'I was wrong.'

Building on the precedents set by past presidents Hyran Barefoot and Robert Craig, Dockery has excelled at placing the school on the map, Stewart said.

"I think he had a much broader vision of what Union could be than anybody ever dreamed. And he had the guts to put it on the table," Stewart said. "I don't think we've seen anything yet."

About Dockery

• Born on Oct. 28, 1952, in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
• Married Lanese Huckeba on June 14, 1975. Lanese is a Union graduate.
• Children: Jonathan Samuel, a Union graduate and currently a student at Beeson Divinity School in Alabama; Benjamin Paul, a senior at Union and Timothy David, a junior at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas.
• Education: University of Texas-Arlington, Ph.D., Texas Christian University, M.A., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, M.Div., Grace Theological Seminary, M.Div, University of Alabama at Birmingham, B.S. (previously attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa), Additional Studies: Drew University
• Ordination: Hunter Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala.
• Membership: Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson
• Publishing: Author or editor of more than 20 books

Union University President David Dockery answers questions about Christian education.  Full List of Questions

Q. You say there is no room for anti-intellectualism in Christian higher education. What do you mean by that?

A. There has been a tendency among some to suggest that you can't be academically rigorous if you have a serious Christian commitment. Many Christian schools have opted for a genuine piety and third-rate academics. "Holy mediocrity" in academics is still mediocrity and we don't think that is acceptable. Others have tried to have first-rate academics and have done so by downplaying or disregarding their Christian commitments. We don't want to go in that direction either.

Q. Are students getting involved in the community to see life beyond the proverbial "Union bubble"?

A. I think more than ever students, as well as staff, faculty and administrators, are involved in the life of the Jackson community. We want to encourage volunteerism. We want to encourage service-learning opportunities. We want students to have genuine moral and ethical commitments that encourage their involvement. We want to try to avoid a self-righteous isolationism.

Q. What are some of the biggest challenges students face in today's culture when it comes to preserving their faith?

A. The bombardment of sexuality in music, plays, the media and film is probably the greatest challenge for today's students. The whole issue of truth, global unrest, issues of prejudice and racism, and many other significant challenges face our students. Learning to think and live Christianly is not easy in today's world.

David Dockery is the most significant thing to happen in the school's history. It's an exciting time to be here." George Guthrie, Christian studies chair