A few minutes after midnight on Sunday morning (November 10), the campus was hit by a tornado. The residential area of the campus was particularly hit hard. The married student apartments are in terrible shape. All four buildings will need new roofs, new carpet, and new windows. The McAfee Complex and Hurt Complex were also hit quite hard. Blythe Hall, Patton Hall, and the Hurt Commons suffered extensive damage. Hammons Hall and the baseball field experienced minor damage.

Trees, power lines, and light poles were down all over campus. As I walked around in those early Sunday morning hours, the devastation seemed beyond belief.

The campus was without power, water, phones, or technology for almost 18 hours. Initial power was restored around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday night. Full power, water, etc. was restored at noon on Monday (about 36 hours after the storm hit).

The wonderful thing is that no lives were lost, no one was hurt. Indeed the Lord has taken care of us in an amazing way.

Classes were cancelled on Monday. Students, staff, and faculty joined together to serve joyfully as we started to clean up the campus. It was an incredible sense of community—like watching “an Amish barnraising.” We have made great progress in the last 48 hours. We still have much work to do—weeks worth of work, but by God’s grace we will see it through.

We have had so much help, encouragement, and support. Dement Construction, MG Construction, the United Way, the Red Cross, the Methodist Hospital, the Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief Team, and so many others have provided food, materials, and many other things to help us at this time.

We are thankful for God’s protection. We rejoice in the great spirit of hope that has been evident to all. While the damage will approach hundreds of thousands of dollars, we are seeing the Union community at its best during this challenging time. Please know of our deep gratitude for your prayers and support for us all.