Affirming the Union Mission
Union University is approaching
her 175th birthday. Union has been preserved to this day through enormous
effort, great sacrificial giving, much prayer, and God's sustaining grace.
Union continues to exist in order to provide a qualitatively distinctive
Christian liberal arts education. While we are grateful for all who are involved
in the service of higher education, it is important to recognize that Christian
higher education is unique—and we believe Christian higher education
at Union is special.
At Union University we are ready to help students enter the changing world of the 21st Century. The goal and mission of Union University is to educate students so they will be prepared to be servant leaders, ready to carry out the vocation to which God has called them, enabled and equipped with the skills necessary to think Christianly and perform skillfully in the world.
Union University is committed to academic excellence. No we are not a giant research institution, but Union is a learner-centered institution where classroom teaching is prized. We enable students to be grounded in the world of literature, values, ideals, history, ethics, arts, music, communication, and creativity. The most important assets on the Union campus are our students and our well trained, highly motivated faculty. We expect the faculty to model excellence for our students while challenging them to pursue excellence in all areas of their lives.
Education at Union is not only excellence driven, it is Christ centered. This means more than having a campus minister and regular chapel programs—as important as these are. It means a commitment to the serious integration of faith and learning. As the University's statement of purpose observes: "Union University endeavors to give an articulate and vigorous witness to the Christian faith as the unifying principle around which one relates learning to life. Each student is encouraged to explore in depth the basis, meaning, and implications of his or her relationship to God in Christ." This involves a holistic approach to education with the goal of having students who are both Christianly informed and Christianly formed.
The trustees of this institution have unanimously adopted an institutional vision statement—Vision and Values 2001—to enable Union to expand and improve its program throughout the University while being mission-driven. The statement proclaims that we will seek to lead with foresight and insight based on hindsight so as to provide an informed direction from the present to the future.
We believe the goals and strategies identified in this planning document will enable Union to clarify and more clearly articulate the primary purposes for its existence. It provides a picture of what Union will look like in the early years of the 21st Century. It communicates the difference a Union education makes in people's lives. Primarily it points the way for us to travel as we corporately reaffirm the core values that shape our mission.
Looking back to the school's founding in 1823 and the initial charter in 1825 causes us to give thanks for all who have gone before us. We stand on their shoulders, ready to move forward. As we soon begin the months of celebration surrounding Union's 175th anniversary, we all should expect—even demand—that Union continue to be committed to a standard of excellence that results in a qualitatively different and distinctive Christian liberal arts education. To do less would be inconsistent with our mission. We invite alumni and friends, students and parents to join with trustees, administrators, faculty and staff in affirming the Union mission.
