Looking Ahead: Getting There From Here
Navigating Union's future
is a bit like planning a major trip. As we begin we ask, what do we do? Where
are we going? How do we get there from here?
We don't drive directly to the airport and hop on any plane. No. We lay the groundwork, decide where to go and when to depart. We consult with those making the trip and possibly change the date or place to accommodate other's availability. We check flight schedules, roadmaps, and hotel availability, plan activities, and recognize that some plans may change in the process as unexpected things develop.
This fall we excitedly look forward to the final steps of the Campus Master Planning process. This process was initiated last fall. After evaluating several firms, the Board of Trustees approved the selection of a team to guide the process. During the spring semester students, faculty, staff, administrators, and representatives from the community, alumni, and trustees all participated in various aspects of the process. This summer additional studies on space utilization and academic needs were carried forward. This fall preliminary recommendations will be made to various representatives of our different constituencies. A final proposal will be presented to the Board of Trustees for their approval in December.
This plan will map out the course we will travel over the next several years, until 2001, then 2006, and perhaps even beyond. It has been one of the most exciting processes in which I have ever participated. The goal is to create an aesthetically pleasing campus that will effectively use the resources we have and add what is needed. As we do so we want to connect the present campus with features of the old campus to create a new campus.
The timing of this process is providential indeed for it occurs while we are planning the 175th anniversary celebration of Union's founding date in 1823. At Homecoming on February 20-21, 1998, we will be able to present the new campus master plan as we simultaneously celebrate our heritage and look ahead with the expectation of God's continued blessings on Union University. The overarching goal remains for Union to be an excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused, future-directed university.
As we look ahead we are reminded that Christian higher education will face difficult challenges. Several important programs will begin this fall to enable Union University to address some of those challenges and take positive steps toward this exciting future:
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The new Center for Christian Leadership will be inaugurated in September.
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The RN to BSN program will begin at our new site in Germantown.
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Dr. Charles Baldwin will be installed in Union's first endowed chair. We trust this is the first of several endowed chairs/professorships to be named in days ahead.
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Our first area-wide scholarship banquet will be held at the Jackson Civic Center on October 9 with Lou Holtz as the speaker.
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Union will host a major conference on "The Future of Christian Higher Education" on our campus October 10-11 with some of the finest leaders in Christian higher education from around the country.
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Retooled cohort graduate programs will begin this fall in both business and education.
Several outstanding new faculty members will join us this academic year. They bring a love for teaching, a concern for students, a zeal for Christ, and a commitment to Christian scholarship. Each brings excellent preparation and experience exemplified by his or her work in some of the premier graduate programs in this country including Yale, Northwestern, Michigan, Purdue, Vanderbilt, and North Carolina, among others. They will make a splendid contribution to what is already one of the premier teaching faculties in all of North America!
These are just some of the exciting events that will help us get there from here. The journey ahead promises to be exciting. The plans are being made. Please join us for the trip – with your participation and presence, your counsel and support, your financial gifts and your prayers for God's blessings and enablement on Union University.
