Union Adventist University (formerly Union College) is a private

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...

college in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. Known as Union College from 1891 to May5, 2024, it is owned and operated by the Mid-America Union Conference of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

. It is accredited by the Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA) and the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.

History

L. A. Hoopes and a committee of church leaders, including influential Adventist scholar and administrator W. W. Prescott, came to

in search of land to establish a college in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. In September 1891, Union College opened its doors to students with Prescott serving as its first president. The present-day community of College View grew around the college campus. During the 1920s, the college experienced a difficult period due to the shrinking enrollment and budget deficits. In 1939, former mayor of Lincoln Don Lathrop Love donated money for the college to build an industrial building and established a life annuity with the college a year later. The 1970s saw major expansion of the college, including the construction of the iconic 100-foot clock tower, Everett Dick Administration Building, the college's lab school George Stone School and College View Church. The radio station KUCV was also operated by the college from its 1974 sign-on until it was sold in 1989. In 1981, Union held its first annual service day, cancelling classes to allow students and staff to volunteer at local service projects. This collegiate service day, initially named Project Brush and later Project Impact, is the longest-running event of its kind in the United states. In 2004, Union began offering the unique International Rescue and Relief program, a bachelor's degree training students in disaster response, emergency management, and international development. Teams from this program respond to regional and international disasters. In 2024, due to the increasing number of graduate programs offered and confusion with other institutions named "Union College", the name of the institution was changed to Union Adventist University.

Campus

The 50 acre campus is located in southeastern Lincoln, surrounded by residential areas and small businesses. Major campus buildings include the Clocktower, Everett Dick Administration Building; the Don Love Building housing library and auditorium, Ortner Center with cafeteria and conference facilities; Krueger Center for science and mathematics, AdventHealth Center with exercise facilities and nursing, Engel Hall with music and fine arts, the Thunderdome gymnasium, Prescott Hall men's residence, and Rees Hall women's residence. The campus is also the location of the Joshua C. Turner Arboretum, a site of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, hosting over 100 species of plants.

Academics

The college is organized into eight divisions: * Business and Computer Science * Emergency Management and Exercise Science * Fine Arts * Human Development * Humanities * Nursing * Religion * Science & Math In addition to undergraduate degrees, the college offers Masters programs in Leadership, Occupational Therapy, Public Health, and Physician Assistant Studies.

Athletics

In athletics, Union plays as the Warriors and fields a limited number of sports, but is not a member of a major college sports association but rather the Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA). As such, their teams tend to play against

bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christianity, Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for C ...

community college A community college is a type of undergraduate higher education institution, generally leading to an associate degree, certificate, or diploma. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an open enr ...

s, and JV teams. The university also hosts three tournaments each year (one for basketball, soccer, and volleyball) for Seventh-day Adventist high school teams.

Notable people

Alumni

* Laura Fenton, racquetball athlete * Wayne Hooper, gospel music composer * T. R. M. Howard, civil rights leader, entrepreneur, hospital owner * Rukebai Inabo, Senator of

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

* Milton E. Kern, educator * Sandra Pierantozzi, former

Vice President of Palau Vice President of Palau is the second-highest position in the executive branch of the government of Palau, after the President of Palau, president. The vice president is elected in popular elections separate from presidential elections. When ...

* Chester Wickwire, chaplain, civil rights and peace activist

Faculty

* Jonathan M. Butler, historian * Frank Lewis Marsh, biologist, educator * John G. Matteson, minister who brought the Seventh-day Adventist Church to Denmark * Mike Mennard, recording artist, current literature and communications lecturer

References

External links

* *''Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists'' entry fo
Union College (Nebraska)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Union College Liberal arts colleges in Nebraska Universities and colleges established in 1891 Seventh-day Adventist universities and colleges in the United States Education in Lincoln, Nebraska Clock towers in Nebraska Buildings and structures in Lincoln, Nebraska 1891 establishments in Nebraska Private universities and colleges in Nebraska