 Jackson, Tenn. - Union
University's Board of Trustees broke ground today on a 20,000 square-foot facility for its
bookstore, making Union the site of the only Baptist Book Store/Lifeway Christian Store on
a college or university campus. The bookstore is the first building to be constructed
under the Campus Master Plan and will sit between the Blasingame Academic Complex and the
Highway 45 Bypass. The groundbreaking ceremony immediately followed the Board's fall
meeting on Union's campus. During the meeting, Trustees received reports of several
university achievements, including:
- The university's largest freshman class ever, totaling 473 students. This year's
freshman class compares to 373 in the fall of 1997.
- Union's highest fall enrollment of 2,323, marking a 15 percent increase in one year.
- More than $7.5 million in gifts during the 1997-98 fiscal year, making it the most
successful year ever in giving to the university.
"Union's enrollment and development trends are signs of God's gracious blessings
and should serve as a marvelous encouragement to friends of Union everywhere,"
President David S. Dockery asserts. This year's freshman class is not only the largest in
university history but also the most academically proficient. Included in Union's class of
2002 are three National Merit Finalists and 30 valedictorians and salutatorians. Both
figures are records for the university. The entire class averaged a 24 ACT composite
score, three points higher than the national average of 21 and 4.5 points higher than the
Tennessee average of 19.5.
 Today's groundbreaking
follows an agreement made earlier this summer between Union and Lifeway Christian stores,
in which the national chain agreed to assume operation of the existing campus bookstore,
currently located in the university's student center. University officials expect the
bookstore will move into its new two-story facility by summer 1999. The retail store will
be on the ground floor, with the second floor used for adult education classrooms and
offices, administrative offices and a community conference room.
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