The Bicentennial Campaign
For 200 years, Union University has been an institution committed to its mission of providing Christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to Church and society. Today, Union remains as resolute and devoted to its biblical foundation as ever.
We believe that God has great things in store for Union, despite the challenges we face. We find ourselves in an increasingly secular, post-Christian society that disdains many of the beliefs and convictions that Union holds most dear. Private Christian schools like Union are fighting for their very survival and are facing obstacles that loom larger than they ever have. The higher education environment has never been more competitive, and schools like Union must be equipped with the resources necessary to successfully navigate the cultural waters in which we sail.
As we look to the future, we see the ways God has used the university over the past 200 years, and we dream of what he will do in the days ahead. We want to dream big about what God can do through Union — making disciples, equipping students to serve, supporting churches, and reflecting and proclaiming the glory of God to the world around us.
Boosting Scholarships
One of the main components to the comprehensive campaign will be increasing the university's the endowment by $20 million — which will essentially increase its current size by about 40 percent. The largest portion of our endowment is to support student scholarships. Currently, the endowment generates about $1.5 million annually. Those funds go directly to students to help them fund their education at Union.
Enhancing Academics
One of our goals with the comprehensive campaign is to raise funds for program endowments and endowed chairs, helping us to recruit the very best professors to teach our students, to lead our students, and to live in community with our students. An endowed chair is a faculty position that is privately funded with a gift that generates enough income to supply a salary for the professor in perpetuity, thus taking pressure off the university's operating budget.
Expanding Facilities
Another component to the comprehensive campaign will be campus facilities. The buildings constructed at Union over the past 20 years — structures like The Logos, White Hall, Providence Hall, Jennings Hall, and others — are beautiful facilities. They are designed to shape not just minds, but hearts, and to lead us into the kind of community we desire and that makes Union special.That spirit and commitment to aesthetics will continue in the years ahead as we look to construct buildings that reflect the beauty of our Creator.
Campaign at a Glance
Cost
We anticipate a need of $80 million to accomplish these goals — $40 million for the buildings and other campus improvements, $20 million to grow the endowment and provide for additional endowed chairs, $10 million in planned and testamentary gifts and $10 million in unrestricted giving to the Union Fund that allows Union to continue operating at a high level and providing the services to students that must be available for ongoing recruitment.
We realize that $80 million is a lofty goal, but we also know we serve a God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He is a God who provides, a God who makes a way, and a God who delights in blessing His people. We are confident that God can use the resources and generosity of our friends — friends like you — to make this goal a reality.
Total Raised
Total Raised: $66.5 Million
Campaign at a Glance
| Area of Giving | Goal | Amount Raised |
|---|---|---|
| Building and campus improvements | $40 Million | $29,033,858 |
| Scholarship support/endowment | $20 Million | $6,470,003 |
| Union Fund/unrestricted giving | $10 Million | $23,225,679 |
| Planned/testamentary giving | $10 Million | $7,743,630* |
* Net Present Value used for planned/testamentary cash gifts.
Core Values
Union remains as resolute and committed to its Biblical foundation as ever. At Union, we believe God has spoken to us through the Scriptures. We believe the Bible is trustworthy, reliable, and true. We believe Jesus Christ is our only hope for salvation. And we believe that pursuing Him and loving Him with our hearts, souls, minds, and strength is what God has called us to do.
This is why Union has remained committed to its mission of providing Christ-centered education that promotes excellence and character development in service to Church and society. That’s why Union is an institution characterized by its core values.
Through the Years
For two centuries, God has proven Himself faithful to Union University, time and time again. Through war and peace. Through fire and storm. Through prosperity and want. Through blessing and trial.
Today, Union University stands on the brink of its third century. At the same time, we find ourselves in an increasingly secular, post-Christian society that disdains many of the beliefs and convictions Union holds most dearly. The higher education environment has never been more competitive, and institutions like Union must be equipped with the resources necessary to successfully navigate the cultural waters in which we sail.
Our Dreams
Despite the challenges before us, we are confident that God has great things in store for Union. As we look to the future, we see the ways God has used the university over the past 200 years, and we dream of what He will do in the days ahead.
We dream of a campus that continues to attract students from all over the world — students who come to be taught and mentored by world-class professors who are skilled at instructing their students in how to think about their subject matter through a biblical lens. We dream of providing students with state-of-the-art facilities that will equip them to be excellent in their fields. We dream of being a campus, based in West Tennessee, that is a beacon to the world and that showcases the glory and the beauty of Christ.
Hands and Feet of Jesus
We dream of Union graduates who will be the hands and feet of Jesus in every context imaginable.
They will join Union alumni around the world — now 21,000 strong — who are serving the church and society across the globe and making a difference for the kingdom of God. Ultimately, we dream of how God will use Union University to send out an army of alumni to be salt and light in a lost world — alumni who will take the gospel with them to every tongue, tribe, people, and nation.
Dreaming Big
Let us never say that we failed to dream big about what God can do through Union. Let us never say that we doubted the urgency or the importance of our mission. From now until Christ’s return, the mission of Union University will be vital and necessary in making disciples, in equipping students to serve, in supporting churches, and in reflecting and proclaiming the glory of the Lord to the world around us.
To achieve this end, Union is launching a comprehensive campaign that will secure the university’s financial foundation for the foreseeable future.
Ways to Give
To succeed in a campaign like this, a variety of gifts are needed, whether they be cash, securities, property, crypto-currency, land or testamentary gifts. Our Office of Institutional Advancement will be happy to work with you to help you achieve your giving goals.
