JACKSON, Tenn. — July 26, 2025 — Union University graduates must look to the Lord, support one another and hold the line as they embark on the next chapter of their lives, Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said in his keynote address at Union’s July 26 commencement ceremony.
Eighty-two students received their degrees during the ceremony in G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel, which marked the end of the 2024-2025 academic year.
“It’s time for you to stand for truth in a culture of lies,” said Oliver, who has served as Union’s 16th president since 2014. “It’s time for you to battle against the forces of evil and injustice in our world. It’s time for you to stop relying on others to fight the battles for you.”
Drawing from Exodus 17:8-16, in which the Israelites battled the Amalekites, Oliver said God’s people prevailed when they looked up and dedicated their hearts to the Lord.
“When you look down, when you see all the difficulties around you, you can give way to despair,” he said. “The only way to sustain our energies, individually or collectively, is to turn our gaze up to God, to the far horizon of hope.”
Oliver said he wants Union to be a university that points people to God, and that’s why a gold cross sits atop The Logos and why Scripture verses are posted around campus – so students and visitors can look up and remember what the Bible says.
Supporting each other is a second lesson from the Exodus passage, Oliver said, emphasizing that a rope of great strength is created when individuals weave the weak strands of their own lives together with others.
“Are you willing to stand with others, to fill the gap for them?” he asked graduates. “Are you willing to share someone else’s burden? Are you willing to tell others of your own needs so that they can hold your arms up? There is always greater strength when we stand together.”
The Union president also encouraged graduates to hold the line and get in the battle.
“Is it going to be hard? Yes, it is,” he said. “God never promised that following him would be easy. He promised to be with us. You can do hard things because God is with you.”