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Union University

s of the Academy secured a charter for a college and received an endowment from the state to come from the sale of public lands. West Tennessee College continued until 1874, when at a time of depressed economic conditions, the trustees offered the College's buildings, grounds, and endowment to Tennessee Baptists in the hopes of attracting a southwestern regional university planned by the state's Baptist leaders.

Southwestern Baptist University, the immediate predecessor of the present Union University, originated because of a desire by Tennessee Baptists for greater unification.

In 1907, Dr. T. T. Eaton, a trustee at Southwestern from its beginning, bequeathed his 6,000 volume library to the college. He was a former professor at Union University at Murfreesboro, where his father, Dr. Joseph H. Eaton, had been president. Shortly thereafter the name of Southwestern Baptist University was changed to Union University to honor the Eatons and others from Union at Murfreesboro.

Because of an aging and landlocked campus, Union University moved in 1975 from near downtown Jackson to a new campus north of the city along Highway 45 Bypass.

During the administrations of President Robert Craig (1967-85) and President Hyran Barefoot (1987-1996), enrollment increased from less than 1,000 students to more than 2,000; the multi-purpose Penick Academic Complex was enlarged several times; many additional housing units were erected; and the Blasingame Academic Complex (1986) and the Hyran E. Barefoot Student Union Building (1994) were completed.

When David S. Dockery was elected as the fifteenth president of Union University in December 1995, he introduced a compelling vision to build on a great tradition while taking Union to the next level of regional and national prominence in Christian higher education.

The progress that has been made during this time has been remarkable: fall enrollment increased from 1,972 (in 1996) to 4,186 (in 2010). During that time, Union also received 17 of the largest gifts in its history.

Union started an extension program in the Memphis suburb of Germantown in 1997. Enrollment on the Germantown campus is now nearly 900 students. Classes began at an extension campus in the Nashville suburb of Hendersonville in 2008.

In the past decade, more than $120 million in improvements to the Jackson campus have been completed, including 19 residence halls, the Miller Tower, Jennings Hall, Hammons Hall, Fesmire indoor and outdoor athletic facilities, Smith Soccer Complex, White Hall, Providence Hall and the Carl Grant Events Center.

Undergraduate majors have been added in political science, physics, theology, digital media studies, church history, ethics, sports management, sports medicine, engineering. There are new graduate programs in education (M.U.Ed., M.Ed., Ed.S., and Ed.D.), nursing (MSN with tracks in education, administration, nurse practitioner, and nurse anesthesia), intercultural studies (MAIS), social work (MSW), and pharmacy (Pharm.D.). Doctor of Ministry (D.Min) and Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) programs.

Union has achieved national recognitions, including a Top Tier ranking from U.S.News & World Report each year since 1997. At the start of 2010-11, that publication named Union one of 68 national "Universities to Watch" and one of only 86 schools "where the faculty has an unusual commitment to undergraduate teaching."

Accreditation

Union University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, education specialist, and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia, 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Union University.

Normal inquiries about the institution, such as admission requirements, financial aid, educational programs, etc., should be addressed directly to the institution and not to the Commission's office.

Discipline Specific Accreditations:

The Engineering program is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org
American Chemical Society
Commission on Accreditation for Athletic Training Education
Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Council on Social Work Education
National Association of Schools of Art and Design
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
National Association of Schools of Music
Teacher Education Program of the Tennessee Department of Education
Tennessee Health Related Boards