Issue: Summer 2014

From The President

I am honored and humbled by the call to serve as the 16th president of Union University. On behalf of my wife Susie, let me express how excited we are to be serving alongside the outstanding faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of this great university.

As Christian educators, we work from the premise that all truth is God's truth, and there is no reason to separate our faith from our academic pursuits. With that in mind, it is hard to imagine a place of service that could offer more rewarding opportunities than what is found at Union University, where we are preparing tomorrow's leaders in more than 100 fields of study with rigorous academic training and an integrated focus on the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Union is known as a place where excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused and future-directed core values shape the ways we learn and live. From the excellent teaching that takes place in our classrooms and laboratories to the lifelong friendships that result from our life in community, there is much here for which we are grateful. We are invigorated by the challenges ahead as we focus on continuing and strengthening this tremendous work.

Prayer was an important part of the presidential selection process. Many of you interceded on behalf of the committee with commitments to prayer and fasting. In God's providence, many prayed for us before you ever heard our names or knew anything about us. Thank you! I ask that you please continue to pray for all of us at Union as we take the next steps in an institutional journey that began nearly two centuries ago.

May we be faithful stewards of all that Union has become, and may it always be a place where thousands of students are in the process of discovering God's purposes for their lives.

With unfailing hope,

Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver, Ph.D.

Psalm 90:17