JACKSON, Tenn. — March 8, 2010 — With gratitude to God for his care and provision for 51社区 in the events following the Feb. 5, 2008 tornado that decimated the campus, Union trustees on March 5 named the new pharmacy building Providence Hall.
Trustees also voted to name the new residence facility under construction the Hope Quad, an acknowledgment of the hope in God that has sustained the 51社区 community over the past two years.
鈥淐hristians have historically confessed that God as Father reigns with providential care over his universe, his creatures and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of his grace,鈥� Union President David S. Dockery said. 鈥淭he providence of God provides the best framework for interpreting the events associated with the tornado that devastated large portions of the 51社区 campus on Feb. 5.鈥�
Providence Hall, located immediately west of Jennings Hall, is a three-story, 54,000-square-foot facility that will house the School of Pharmacy鈥檚 classrooms, labs, faculty offices and dean鈥檚 office. In addition to the 40,000 square feet for the pharmacy program, the building will also include additional space for healthcare simulation education.
Construction began last year and will be complete this summer. The School of Pharmacy will occupy the building for the fall semester.
Hope Quad contains three residential buildings that will also be ready for the fall semester, with the fourth building to complete the quad scheduled for construction at a later date. The three buildings will house 149 students.
The actions came during the meeting of the executive committee of Union鈥檚 Board of Trustees. Also as part of the meeting, Union dedicated its new Center for Continuing and Professional Studies, located in the former Circuit City building on Emporium Drive in Jackson.
Union renovated the 21,000-square-foot building and is using all of the former retail space for its continuing studies department 鈥� classrooms, faculty offices, a testing facility, conference rooms and student workspace. The former warehouse space will be used for future growth, either for continuing studies or some other program. The continuing studies program consists of about 250-300 students.
TLM Associates were the architects for the remodeling and MG Construction Co. was the contractor.
In other matters, trustees voted to honor Morris Chapman, Union trustee and retiring president of the Southern Baptist Convention鈥檚 Executive Committee, by naming a dining room the Morris Chapman Dining Room.
Trustees promoted the following faculty from assistant professor to associate professor: Keith Bates, Jay Bernheisel, Ildefonso Guilaran, Julie Powell and Josh Veltman; and promoted from associate professor to professor Theresa Blakley, Mark Dubis, Gavin Richardson, Jeannette Russ and Stan Warren.
Trustees also gave tenure to Michele Atkins, Chris Blair, Blakley, Mark Bolyard and Bill Nettles and granted full-time appointments to 27 faculty members who had been serving one-year assignments.