Dear Parents:

The tragic events of this past week have left an indelible imprint on us all.  I wanted you to be aware of our responses on campus over the last week.  Obviously an evil attack of this kind on American soil is a new experience for all of us.  But it is especially new for this generation of students.  Past American conflicts are almost ancient history for them.  Most of our current undergraduates were in elementary school during the Gulf War.  Thus we have worked very hard to be sensitive to this reality so that we could provide the kind of support and information that would be most helpful for them.

Beginning on Tuesday morning we suspended classes for a brief time to hold a special prayer time in the chapel.  That was followed by a student led prayer meeting on Tuesday evening.  Small group meetings and special times in class were devoted to prayer and discussion throughout the week.

We hosted a major forum Thursday morning led by six faculty members, experts in the areas of international affairs, political science, American history, faith and culture, and ethical matters.  It was a most informative and extremely helpful time for our entire campus.  I would say it was a high water mark for faculty leadership during my six years at Union University.

On Friday a standing room only group of students, faculty, and staff attended a special chapel service. I spoke and attempted to address the spiritual questions our students have been asking in recent days (the address can be found on the Union website).  I also posted a message to our campus on our website last Tuesday.  I would call your attention to other stories posted on the Union site (uu.edu).  We began this new week with a special chapel on Monday morning, a time of prayer and Scripture reading.  We cancelled all athletic events last week but we will seek to move forward this week with regularly scheduled activities.

Our faculty has provided outstanding leadership during these days.  The Offices of Student Services and Campus Ministries have spent many hours providing necessary support and counsel for our students.  I am so thankful for the way our campus has responded to the events of this week.  We know we must now prepare to carry on our work in a different world than what we have known before.

I wanted you as a parent to be aware of our responses across campus.  I hope you will pray especially for our campus, even as we all pray for and support our country, and particularly for President Bush during these days.

As we conclude the first month of the 2001-02 academic year, I can say that overall this is the best start we have experienced on the Union University campus in my six years as president.  This past week Union was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the Best Universities in the South (in the Best Universities-Masters category).  We have been listed in the top tier of colleges in this periodical for the last four years.  But this year we moved to the university category—a group of larger schools.  This recognizes the growing diversity in the curriculum at Union in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.  Obviously we are pleased with this recognition of the academic excellence at Union University.  We have a record enrollment of 2609 with nearly all residential housing occupied.  The enrollment numbers, the recognitions, the quality of students, and the wonderful spirit on campus (evidenced by a unanimous vote by faculty and staff for a new identity/mission statement for the institution) are an encouragement to us all.

We hope to see many of you on family weekend (October 12-13).  We are thankful your student is at Union this year.  We ask that you pray for us as we trust God to help us through these days.