JACKSON, Tenn. — Oct. 29, 2025 — Union University’s 2025 Homecoming celebration included the recognition of 16 alumni and friends of the university for outstanding achievements in their respective fields and the presentation of Union’s Homecoming Court, among other activities.
“As we celebrated Homecoming, we saw the impact Union alumni and students have not only on campus but in communities near and far,” said Catherine Kwasigroh, Union’s vice president for institutional advancement. “Their commitment to service and excellence reflects the values at the heart of Union’s mission, and we are honored to highlight those who make a difference in so many ways.”
This year’s Meritorious Service Award winners, honored at an Oct. 24 banquet, were:
• Alumna of the Year: Cameron Conn (’05) — 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. Conn is president of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association, where she advocates for 34 private colleges and leads with decades of higher education experience.
• Outstanding Young Alumna: Courtney Powell (’11) — 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. Powell is operations director for the resource development team at Strategic Resource Group, where she advances ministry partnerships across the Middle East and North Africa.
• Union Family Legacy Award: Jane Hopkins (’71) — 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. Hopkins is a lifelong educator who devoted nearly 30 years to teaching in the Haywood County School System in Brownsville, Tennessee, before retiring in 2007. Her family’s Union legacy dates to 1924.
• Lest We Forget Award: Warren Nunn — This award is presented in recognition of longtime service and contributions to the Union University community. Nunn dedicated his career to the banking industry as president and chairman of the board at The Bank of Halls. He has served Union in multiple ways over the years, including as a member of the Board of Trustees and the Board of Regents.
• Robert E. Craig Service Award: Linda Shoaf — This award is named after Union’s 13th president and is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the university. A nutrition education leader with decades of teaching and service on Union’s Board of Trustees, Shoaf is a dedicated supporter of student scholarships and university progress.
• G.M. Savage Legacy Award: Chris Nadaskay — This award is given to a faculty or staff member for his or her ongoing commitment to Christ-centered education at Union. Chair and professor of art, Nadaskay has shaped Union’s art program for more than 30 years and is recognized for his artistic excellence and scholarly contributions.
In addition, Union presented Distinguished Achievement Awards to 10 Union alumni for significant contributions in different professional areas. Those recipients were:
• Craig Dismuke (’98) in business. Craig Dismuke serves as managing director and chief market strategist for Stifel’s Fixed Income Capital Markets group, where he leads market analysis and strategy for institutional investors across the country.
• Fondra Magee (’86) in education. Magee serves in Spokane, Washington, where she developed an award-winning counseling program recognized at the district and state level and was named Washington School Counselor of the Year in 2024.
• Pam Andrews (’78) in arts/media. She is an internationally recognized children’s Christian songwriter, music educator and breast cancer survivor who has written more than 700 songs and produced more than 70 children’s choir musicals.
• Jerry (’69) and Becky (’10, ’11) Drace in church ministry. The Draces founded the Jerry Drace Evangelistic Association in 1975 and have led evangelistic crusades and family conferences across the United States and abroad, including in Scotland, South Korea and Hong Kong.
• Ward Howard (’15) in research/sciences. Howard is a NASA Sagan Fellow hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, where he uses data from the James Webb Space Telescope and other observatories to study how stellar activity affects the atmospheres and habitability of distant planets.
• Steve Maroney (’87) in government/public service. He practiced law for nearly three decades before being appointed chancellor of Tennessee’s 26th Judicial District in 2021. He has since served as presiding judge of the district and as a member of the Tennessee Judicial Conference.
• Michele Walton (’02) in not-for-profit. Walton serves as publishing director for seeJesus, a global discipling ministry that helps the church see and reflect the life, death and resurrection of Christ through discipleship resources and training.
• Renee Emerson (’08) in humanities. She is the author of three full-length poetry collections, along with several chapter books and a middle grade novel, and teaches online writing courses for Indiana Wesleyan University and Shorter University.
• Lee Sanders (’97) in health care. Sanders is board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology and serves as associate professor at the University of Iowa and the Iowa City Veterans Affairs Health Care System, where he is also medical director of transplantation services.
Union’s 2025 Homecoming Court was presented during halftime of the Bulldog basketball game Oct. 25. Mallory Hildebrand, a family studies major from Montgomery, Alabama, was named Ms. Union, and Evan Eads, an applied linguistics and sociology major from Henderson, Tennessee, was named Mr. Union.
Other Ms. Union candidates were Joelle Cruver, a pre-professional art therapy major from Peachtree City, Georgia; Lili Pettigrew, an English major from Richmond, Virginia; Abby Dawson, an accounting major from Memphis, Tennessee; and Summer Smith, an English major from Atlanta, Georgia.
Other Mr. Union candidates were Eli Patton, a mechanical engineering major from Jackson, Tennessee; Patrick Basie, an electrical engineering major from Pine Mountain, Georgia; Luke Smith, a digital media communications major from Richmond, Virginia; and Landon Haywood, a mechanical engineering major from Lakeland, Tennessee.
Homecoming week featured a community prayer breakfast, student events and contests and basketball, soccer and volleyball games. Earlier in the week, Union students, faculty and staff participated in dozens of service projects across Jackson as part of the annual Campus and Community: A Day of Remembrance and Service event.