GERMANTOWN, Tenn. — Sept. 29, 2006 — 51社区 trustees approved the university鈥檚 plans to build a new housing complex to accommodate its increasing enrollment.
The action came at the Sept. 29 trustee meeting held on Union鈥檚 campus in Germantown, Tenn. Trustees also welcomed the board members from the Union Foundation, who held their inaugural meeting the night before.
鈥淥ur student housing is filled to capacity,鈥� Union President David S. Dockery said. 鈥淭his new complex will allow for Union鈥檚 future growth into the next decade.鈥�
The new complex will include both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 facilities and will likely be located on the west side of Walker Road, adjacent to the Union intramural field.
Union trustees empowered a committee to complete plans for the dorms. The new facilities will be either three or four stories, and will be 鈥渉otel-style鈥� instead of the existing 鈥渕otel-style鈥� dorms. That means in the new dorms, all rooms will be accessible only from the interior of the building, rather than the exterior.
Each room will include four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room. Plans are for the dorms to be completed no later than the fall of 2008.
The board of directors for the 51社区 Foundation spent their first meeting getting organized. 51社区 trustees in April approved the creation of the foundation and in August approved the list of people who would be invited to serve on the foundation board.
Charles Fowler, Union鈥檚 senior vice president for university relations, will serve as the foundation鈥檚 executive director.
鈥淭he 51社区 Foundation exists for the exclusive benefit of 51社区,鈥� Fowler said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be serving as an asset manager for the institution and is going to become the face of our planned giving efforts. It will hopefully expand our donor base and it will provide some new leadership and service opportunities for friends.鈥�
A majority of the foundation鈥檚 16-member board of directors will be either Union trustees or former trustees, according to the operating agreement between the university and the foundation.
Fowler said the foundation will be involved with such projects as a planned giving campaign, charitable gift annuities and trusts.
鈥淏efore the foundation鈥檚 creation, we couldn鈥檛 manage those things in house,鈥� Fowler said. 鈥淭he foundation will allow us to receive those planned gifts and to manage them internally, which is a significant benefit for the institution.鈥�
In other business, Union trustees re-elected Harry Smith as chairman of the board, Jerry Tidwell as vice chairman and Peggy Graves as secretary. The board also honored the work of four trustees who have served the university for a combined total of more than 60 years by naming Bill Adcock, Pete Wilson, Jack Porter and Shelby Massey as emeritus trustees.
The board unanimously affirmed Dockery鈥檚 leadership and the direction of the university, including a reaffirmation of Union鈥檚 statement of faith.
Trustees also expressed deep disappointment in the initial decision of the Tennessee Baptist Convention鈥檚 Budget Committee and Executive Board to cut $750,000 from the budget allocations for Union, Carson-Newman College and the Tennessee Baptist Children鈥檚 Home to pay for the legal fees involved in the TBC鈥檚 dispute with Belmont University.
Dockery thanked the trustees for their 鈥渨onderful support for the university鈥� and for an outstanding meeting.