Hari named Alumna of the Year as part of Union’s annual Homecoming week

JACKSON, Tenn. — Union University’s 2026 Homecoming celebration included the recognition of 17 alumni and friends of the university for outstanding achievements in their respective fields and the presentation of Union’s Homecoming Court, among other activities.

“Many of this year’s honorees have given Union far more than we could ever repay, whether through decades of work on our campus or years of leadership on our Board of Trustees,” said Catherine Kwasigroh, Union’s vice president for institutional advancement. “Homecoming gives us the chance to say thank you and to celebrate the ways God has used Union people to make a difference.”

This year’s Meritorious Service Award winners, honored at an Oct. 30 banquet, were:

• Alumna of the Year: Robyn Hari (’86) — This award is presented to a Union University graduate for distinction in his or her profession, service to mankind and/or contribution to Union University. Hari is a principal with Diversified Trust, an independent trust company serving clients across the Southeast, and is chair of Union’s Board of Trustees.
• Outstanding Young Alumni: Graydon Mears (’11), Russell Richardson (’18) and Eric Smith (’08) — This award is presented to up to three Union graduates who are age 40 or younger with a record of significant accomplishment in their professional life and for service to Union University or the world. Mears is vice president of data strategy and architecture at RxBenefits, a pharmacy benefit optimizer, and has built his career helping health care organizations make decisions through data science.

Richardson is director of advancement for the president’s office at Hillsdale College, where he builds and stewards relationships with donors and strategic partners across the country.

Smith has been senior pastor of Sharon Baptist Church in Savannah, Tennessee, since 2013 and is associate professor of church history at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

• Union Family Legacy Award: Michele Atkins (’89) — This award is presented to one family that has a strong tradition of attending Union University, with a minimum of three generations of graduates, and that has been consistently involved with and committed to the university. Atkins recently retired after 26 years at Union, where her roles included associate provost, professor of education and Title IX coordinator. Her family’s Union legacy dates to 1938.
• Lest We Forget Award: Bill Dement — This award is presented in recognition of longtime service and contributions to the Union University community. Dement is president and managing member of Dement Construction Co. and has served on Union’s Board of Trustees for more than 20 years.
• Robert E. Craig Service Award: Chuck Baker — This award is named after Union’s 13th president and is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the university. Baker spent 35 years in business with AT&T and Unum before retiring early to enter ministry. He has served on Union’s Board of Trustees since 2021 and chairs its Academic Affairs Committee.
• G.M. Savage Legacy Award: Susan Hopper (’81) — This award is given to a faculty or staff member for his or her ongoing commitment to Christ-centered education at Union. Hopper devoted 37 years to Union in academic support, teaching and administration, including her final 14 years as university registrar.

In addition, Union presented Distinguished Achievement Awards to nine Union alumni for significant contributions in different professional areas. Those recipients were:

• Emily Dunn (’86) in business. Dunn is a senior data science fellow at FedEx, where she became the company’s first telecommuter in 1994 and is a three-time recipient of the FedEx Five Star Award, its highest employee honor.
• Don McCulley (’81) in church ministry. McCulley has served as pastor of First Baptist Church in Dresden, Tennessee, since 1989, where he has guided building projects and helped establish ministries for children, senior adults, nursing home residents and women.
• Jonathan Hitt (’02) in education. Hitt is field training services regional director and professor of contract management at Warfighting Acquisition University, where he works to strengthen training for the Department of War acquisition workforce.
• Donna Nelson (’97) in government/public service. Nelson is crime laboratory regional administrator for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Jackson Regional Crime Laboratory and brings more than 28 years of experience in forensic science and DNA analysis.
• Devin Maddox (’08) in humanities. Maddox is publisher of B&H Publishing Group, a division of Lifeway Christian Resources, where he oversees five imprints.
• Rob Krauss (’07) in health care. Krauss is a board-certified clinical medical physicist who was in the first class in the world to earn a Doctor of Medical Physics. At Radformation, he applies his clinical experience to software that improves safety and treatment in radiation oncology.
• Jennifer Graves (’89) in not-for-profit. Graves is president of The STAR Center in Jackson, where she leads programs and assistive technology services for people with disabilities. She previously launched Union’s EDGE Program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
• Nathan Brewer (’07) in research/sciences. Brewer is director of data science at Premise Health in Nashville, Tennessee. As a postdoctoral researcher, he worked with the team that discovered elements 117 and 118, tennessine and oganesson.
• Philip Tang (’12) in sports. Tang is athletic communications director at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, where he oversees digital content and contributes play-by-play and commentary to the Lee Flames Sports Network.

Union’s 2026 Homecoming Court was presented during halftime of the women’s basketball game against LaGrange College Oct. 31. Claire Windham, a social work major from Jackson, was named Ms. Union, and Christian Wade, a worship leadership major from Jackson, was named Mr. Union.

Other Ms. Union candidates were Avery Caldwell, a political science major from Little Rock, Arkansas; Preslie Lovelace, a political science major from Jackson; Bella Putt, a business administration major from Jackson; and Anna Varnick, a worship leadership major from Parsons, Tennessee.

Other Mr. Union candidates were Cooper Bailey, a marketing major from McMinnville, Tennessee; Riley Garrison, a business administration major from DeLand, Florida; John Mosley, a public relations major from Hendersonville, Tennessee; and Owen Stonecipher, a business management major from Jackson.

Homecoming week featured a community prayer breakfast, a University Singers concert, Bulldog Madness, Bulldog Olympics and other student events and contests, intramural flag football championships and men’s and women’s basketball games. Earlier in the week, Union students, faculty and staff took part in service projects across Jackson as part of the annual Campus and Community: A Day of Remembrance and Service event.