51����

JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 4, 2025 — 51���� has announced the naming of its new academic building as “The Ethos Forum.”

The facility will house Union’s McAfee School of Business and the computer science and engineering departments.

Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said the word “ethos” means “character” in Greek, and the building name complements the name of Union’s library, “The Logos.”

“The ‘logos’ is the word, and it represents our beliefs,” Oliver said. “‘Ethos’ represents how we live out our beliefs as we go about our daily lives, as we enter places of business and as we go about our work. The idea of this building is that we’re living out our faith as we create, build, market and sell.”

In ancient times, while the “agora” was the marketplace, Oliver said, the “forum” was the traditional place where ideas were exchanged and where the community came together.

“This is the place where we come together and live out our faith and express our faith, where it moves through our minds and hearts to our hands and how we go about life in this world,” Oliver said.

The Ethos Forum will feature a makerspace, a business incubator and numerous learning spaces designed to foster creativity, entrepreneurship, innovation and academic excellence.

The McAfee family, for whom the McAfee School of Business is named, announced in 2021 a lead gift for the building. Carolyn McAfee Bruner and her late husband, James T. McAfee Jr., graduated from Union in 1961. Their son Tom is a 1994 Union graduate and is chairman and president of Hallmark Systems Inc. His wife Julie is a 1993 Union graduate.

“We are thrilled to see The Ethos Forum come to life,” Tom McAfee said. “This building represents not only a significant investment in the future of 51���� but also a commitment to fostering innovation, creativity and excellence in Union’s students. It is a place where ideas will flourish, and the next generation of leaders will be shaped.”

Located between White Hall and Pleasant Plains Extension on the Great Lawn, The Ethos Forum is part of the campus master plan that Union trustees approved in 2019.

The building will open for use in March following spring break. The dedication ceremony will take place March 21 at 2 p.m. and is open to the public.