Issue: Spring 2017 | Posted: June 1, 2017
Keith Absher (Posthumously)
Distinguished Service Award
Presented to a member of the Union community for distinction in his/her profession, service to mankind, and/or contribution to Union University.
Keith Absher’s wife, Beverly, says he went to college when he was 17 and never left a college campus.
“He loved it,” she says. “He loved students. Doing something with or for the students, having students seek his counsel, any activity that he could do with them was as exciting the day before he died as it was the first day he was able to do it.”
Keith Absher served as dean of Union’s McAfee School of Business Administration for 12 years before his death in 2015 at age 63 following a battle with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
Originally from Florence, Alabama, Absher came to Union as dean in 2004 after serving for many years in the management and marketing department at the University of North Alabama. He taught previously at Athens State University and the University of Arkansas.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees from Jacksonville State University, another master’s degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and his doctorate from the University of Arkansas.
Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver described Absher as a capable administrator, a faithful churchman, a generous giver, a devoted husband and a loving father and grandfather.
“Because Keith was a follower of Jesus Christ, we do not grieve as those who have no hope,” Oliver says. “We know his eternal destiny is secure, and we are grateful that he is now in the presence of his Savior. We thank God for Keith’s life, legacy and commitment to Union University.”
Absher played an instrumental role in the McAfee School of Business Administration earning accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business in 2013. The AACSB designation is what he described as “the gold standard” of business school accreditation, placing the McAfee School in the top 5 percent of business schools in the world.
He also served for six years as Union’s Faculty Athletics Representative, a role mandated by the NCAA.
Absher was a Sunday school teacher at Englewood Baptist Church. He and Beverly have two grown children and seven grandchildren.
Hunter Martin (2015 and 2016), an accounting major from Greenfield, Tennessee, says Absher always greeted students by name when they passed him in the halls.
“He made every effort to build relationships with us and keep himself open to our concerns,” Martin says. “I’ll never forget the warm hospitality he and Mrs. Beverly showed each year by inviting the entire business school for a cookout and hayride at their farm. His role as a Christian business leader is one I plan to model in my future career.”
Absher's wife Beverly accepts his award from Union President Dub Oliver