Alumni

Ken Newman ('62)

Ken Newman has taught in Union�s School of Education as professor of educational leadership for 17 years after receiving a call to Christian education. Prior to this call, Newman taught English and French at North Side High School for seven years until desegregation occurred and he became East High Elementary's librarian. He received his library certification at the encouragement of former Union librarian Ruth Gibbons. In 1967, Newman also received a Master of Education from Memphis State University.

Following a year at East High Elementary, Newman served for 22 years as West High School's librarian, English teacher and French teacher. He earned a master's in English during this time.

In Newman's 30th year of teaching, he returned to North Side as the English and French teacher. He then received his doctorate from the University of Memphis in 1994.

For three and a half years, Newman worked in the Board of Education as middle school instructional supervisor and writing coordinator, starting January of 1996.

Newman has been active in Baptist life since his childhood at Malesus Baptist Church. Since becoming a member of Englewood Baptist Church in 1969, he has served as a Sunday school teacher and deacon. For 13 years, he was also on the Board of Trustees for the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes.

Additionally, Newman serves on the Friends of the Jackson-Madison County Library Board and also on the Dolly Parton Imagination Library Board for Madison County.

Newman is married to Robbye Hillard Newman ('68), with whom he has two adult children, Paul and Holly, and four grandchildren: Anna, Audrey, Harrison and Leah.

Steve Beverly

Steve Beverly joined the Union faculty in 1993 after 20 years in television as a news director in Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. He is associate professor of communication arts and has served as coordinator of the broadcast journalism program for 25 years.

Beverly is a 15-time winner of Associated Press and United Press International awards for reporting. In 1983-1984, he served as president of the Georgia Associated Press Broadcasters Association. In 2008, Beverly created the student-produced and anchored daily newscast Jackson 24-7. The broadcast has won statewide awards.

In the last 15 years, Beverly has supervised production of several award-winning documentaries, including The Boys of West Tennessee; The Legend of Cousin Tuny; Finding Your Forever Home; The History of the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse; Racial Divide: The Road to Racial Reconciliation; and No One Like Maria.

Beverly is a former chair of Guiding Hands for the Blind in Jackson, a former board member of the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and a founding member of Game Show Congress. Currently, he is a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. In 2017, his essay, Depression Happens in the TV Newsroom, Too, was published by the Radio-Television Digital News Association.

Beverly has appeared as an analyst on national television issues and has written 13 columns for Television Week magazine. Since 2009, he has been known as Mr. TV Classics from his weekly Steve Beverly's TV Classics program on cable television in Jackson.

He retired last March after 25 years as the television voice of the Union Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs.

Beverly has been married to Rebecca Geeslin for 37 years. They have two children, Holly and Melody, and two grandchildren.

Ashley Pugh ('11)

Ashley Pugh received her Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Union in 2011 and her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Union�s College of Pharmacy in 2014. While a student pharmacist, Pugh served as president of Union's chapters of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists and Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership Society. She was honored to be a Top 10 finalist in the American Pharmacists Association's National Patient Counseling Competition and recognized as an American Pharmacists Association Foundation scholarship recipient in 2013.

Upon graduating from the College of Pharmacy, Pugh received the Sheila L. Mitchell Leadership Award, the Mylan Excellence in Pharmacy Award and the Union University American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists Mortar and Pestle Award. Following graduation Pugh completed a community pharmacy residency with Union University College of Pharmacy and Kroger Pharmacy. After completing residency training in 2015, Pugh joined the Union University College of Pharmacy faculty as an assistant professor of pharmacy practice with a clinical practice site at Kroger Pharmacy. She received board certification as an ambulatory care pharmacist by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties in 2016.

Pugh is actively involved in the West Tennessee Pharmacists Association, the Tennessee Pharmacists Association and the American Pharmacists Association. Her current leadership roles include serving as the national member-at-large for education on the American Pharmacists Association's New Practitioner Advisory Committee and the vice president of the West Tennessee Pharmacists Association.

Fred Shackelford ('99)

Fred Shackelford began serving as senior pastor of Ellendale Baptist Church in Bartlett, Tennessee, December 2013. After his graduation from Union in 1999, Shackelford earned both a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He then served as president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention from 2011-2012.

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Shackelford is married to Jennifer, who serves alongside him in their ministry. They have three children: Clayton, born August 2003; Jack, born June 2006; and Andrew, born October 2009.

Norman O. Hill ('80)

Norman O. Hill graduated from Union in 1980 with a degree in accounting. During his time at Union, he served as president of the senior class, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and chairman of Resident Life Board. In 1998, Hill earned his Master of Business Administration from Christian Brothers University.

After earning his MBA, Hill became a co-founding member of Trumbull Laboratories, LLC, where he is now the executive director. Trumbull employs approximately 90 skilled technologists, technicians and clerical personnel in order to create microscopic slides for diagnostic review by the doctors of Pathology Group of the MidSouth, PC (PGM). Hill also serves as executive director of PGM, which is a medical group practice consisting of 15 pathologists and multiple hospital surgery center, clinician and payer relationships. Both companies are located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Before working with the partnered companies, Hill worked as operations administrator at Campbell Clinic from 1982-1995, overseeing 200 employees, eight doctors and three locations. He coordinated the design and construction of a 61,000-square-foot medical office building, which was completed on schedule and under budget.

Hill is a member of several professional organizations: Pathology Management Assembly, Medical Group Management Association and American Pathology Foundation. He is also a member of Union's Board of Trustees and the Finance and Audit Committee. Previously he was the chairman of the Presidential Search Committee.

He also serves as deacon and former choir president of Bellevue Baptist Church.

Hill is married to Dale Sanders Hill, and they have one son: Elliott Sanders Hill.

Harry Smith

Harry Smith has exhibited servant leadership during a career that began in accounting and led to the CEO position at Schilling Companies, Inc. He has devoted time to over 25 boards and managing committees in West Tennessee, including more than nine years on the Union University Board of Trustees.

As a board member, Smith helped oversee a variety of major developments, such as the inception of the nurse anesthesia program, the construction of White Hall science facilities and the foundational discussions about the Doctor of Pharmacy program. He also served as board chairman during the 2008 crisis when the tornado that struck campus left behind more than $40 million in damages. Then-president David S. Dockery asked Smith to join the planning effort for rebuilding roughly 75 percent of Union's on-campus housing.

In 2009, Smith was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Union. Whether he is praying for Union students on GO Trips and study tours, contributing hours of expertise on a board or providing timely financial support to the university, Smith contends that outside of giving to the local church, there is no better kingdom investment anyone can make than Union University.

Smith and his wife, Beth, have been married for 47 years. They have one daughter and three grandchildren.

Health Care: John C. Jennings, M.D. ('67)

John C. Jennings is professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at the Permian Basin, where he also served as regional dean from 2006-2012. He is currently the president-elect of the Galveston County Medical Society and the former president of both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Texas Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

A 1967 Union graduate and 1970 University of Tennessee, College of Medicine graduate, Jennings interned at the University of Texas Health Science Center and completed his residency training at the University of Tennessee. He then served as medical officer for the U.S. Air Force Security Service.

Jennings was in private practice for 12 years prior to entering academic medicine. He then served as head of gynecology, program director, department chair and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at multiple universities.

In 2006-2007, he was honored as the Educator of the Year by District VII of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He also received the 2013 Texas Medical Association Gold Award for Excellence in Medical Education and in 2012, the Baden-Gibbs Award for outstanding lifetime service to obstetrics and gynecology. He is the 2016 recipient of the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine Outstanding Alumnus Award.

He was senior editor for the widely used textbook Case Files in Obstetrics and Gynecology and has for 22 years served as the chair of the Editorial Board of Texas Medicine. He is currently co-principle investigator of a national multi-institutional project to develop inter-professional education for maternity care.

Jennings and his wife, Sue Ellen, met at Union and have been married for 49 years. Their three daughters and their families all live in Texas.

Education: Linn M. Stranak ('70)

Linn M. Stranak began working at Union in 1980, coaching baseball and serving as chair of the physical education, wellness and sport (PEWS) department. His work has resulted in 20 new courses for the PEWS curriculum, along with three new majors and an emphasis area within the Master of Education degree. He is the second Union faculty member to receive promotion to university professor and has a Master of Science degree from the University of Kentucky and a Doctor of Arts degree from Middle Tennessee State University. The 2017-2018 school year marks his 48th year in higher education.

From 1972-1980, Stranak was the athletic director and baseball coach for Montreat Anderson College. Out of 530 games in his coaching career, his teams won 384. In 2000, Stranak served as the NAIA region XI baseball tournament director. He is both founder and co-director of Union's Bulldog Championship Baseball School. For the past 21 years, Stranak has also directed the Union Centrifuge summer recreation and Bible study camps.

Beyond his active memberships in five coaching organizations, Stranak volunteers for multiple community organizations: Red Cross, Special Olympics, the Rotary Club, Jackson Baseball Association and Madison County Baseball Association.

Through his years of service, Stranak has been listed among the Outstanding Young Men of America, the Who's Who Among American Teachers four times and the Who�s Who for Executives and Professionals twice. He won NAIA Coach of the Year for baseball. Additionally, he was inducted into the Montreat College Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Union University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013-2014.

Church Ministry: Lawrence Ragland ('87)

Lawrence Ragland is president and CEO of The Paris Youth Enrichment Project, which teaches youth the necessary skills for mission work in the local community and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the project has received several grants, including those from Youth Service America and National Alliance of Faith & Justice, and several awards, most recently the Governor's Volunteer Service Award in 2017.

For a lifetime total of over 4,850 volunteer hours, Ragland received the Presidential Service Award. Part of his time included one year with the AmeriCorps Program and working with the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse.

Since graduating from Union in 1987, Ragland has served 35 years in ministry. For 24 of those years, he pastored in Tennessee and Mississippi. His preaching has been heard around the country on television programs, radio stations and in-person in 38 states. He has also lectured on over 50 college and university campuses, with a two-year period as adjunct professor at the American Baptist College Extension.

While being a local, district, state and national leader in the National Baptist Convention USA, Ragland served as president of three ministers unions. In 2009, he was named National Justice Sunday Commissioner for the annual Dr. Martin L. King Holiday by the National Alliance of Faith & Justice in Washington, D.C.

He is the first African American to serve as president of the Milan High School Alumni from 2015-2016 and was appointed western regional chairman of the Religious Affairs for State of Tennessee NAACP Conference.

Ragland earned his Master of Divinity from Andersonville Baptist Seminary in Camila, Georgia, and his Doctor of Divinity from St. Thomas Christian College in Jacksonville, Florida.

Government/Public Service: John Carroll ('09)

John Carroll is the executive director of City Leadership and founder of Choose901. Originally from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, he and his wife, Ashleigh, moved to Memphis from Texas in 2004 to become the vice president of Ugly Mug Coffee.

After several years of side consulting with nonprofits while serving as a pastor at Fellowship Memphis, Carroll launched his own nonprofit, City Leadership, in 2010 to serve other nonprofits, schools, churches and government agencies.

City Leadership exists to recruit, develop and catalyze leaders for the city of Memphis. The team of 18 proactively identifies the challenges of other leaders in the city and then helps them find the best solutions to more efficiently achieve their missions.

Carroll believes his greatest work achievement is assembling a team of passionate and talented individuals who believe in and work towards improving their community every day.

Carroll and his wife live in midtown Memphis with their four children: JAC, 13; Charis, 11; Abigail, 10; and Jones, 8.

Humanities: Richard and Barbara McDade ('68)

Richard (Rick) and Barbara McDade of Memphis, Tennessee, graduated from Union in 1968 with Bachelor of the Arts degrees in religion and art, respectively. Following graduation, they moved to Fort Worth, where Rick completed a Master of Divinity at Southwestern Seminary in 1971. The McDades then settled in Quito, Tennessee, where Rick served as pastor at Fellowship Baptist Church for five years.

In 1976, the McDades were appointed by the Foreign Mission Board and left for Costa Rica for language school for a year. They arrived in Colombia right before Christmas in 1977 and soon after settled in Pasto, a region in the Andes Mountains of southern Colombia, to serve as church planters.

After serving for six years, the McDades decided to return to Memphis. Rick was hired by the Baptist Hospital, where he served as a hospital chaplain and later served with Trinity Hospice. As one of the only fluent Spanish speakers at the hospital, he assisted as an interpreter. He retired in February of 2017 after 34 years of service.

Barbara began teaching art at First Assembly Christian School (FACS) in 1984 and continues to both teach and be SGA sponsor. She also taught Spanish and English during her many years of service at FACS.

In 2013, the McDades celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

Business: Robert Dailey III ('76)

Robert Dailey III is the president and chief operating officer of Intex DIY, Inc., one of the largest textile wiping cloth suppliers in the country. During his time at Intex, Dailey created a program that offers enhanced support and logistics tools to any non-profit regardless of size, allowing them to join the clothing recycling system largely dominated by non-profits like Goodwill and the Salvation Army.

Dailey designed the program to be simple to implement for all schools and organizations, hoping it would encourage families to get involved in recycling. The program also provides a fundraising project that has environmental benefits.

Arts/Media: Lyda Kay Ferree ('67)

Lyda Kay Ferree is a public relations practitioner. She served as the first director of public relations at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, traveling with the famous Peabody ducks before working at the White House.

Ferree was the first executive director of the Jackson Downtown Development Corporation/Jackson Main Street program and the first general manager of Davis-Kidd Booksellers. Her other professional positions include campaign director, Ed Bryant for Congress, and director of advance, Winfield C. Dunn for Governor Campaign. She also hosted a radio talk show, Lifestyles & Legends: A Celebration of the Good Life, and completed a NASA Space CAMP for the media.

In 2010, Ferree received the Award of Excellence for Outstanding Print Media, and in 2012, she received the Sterling Award for her contributions in West Tennessee. She is a graduate of Leadership Jackson and WestStar, the former board president of the Ned Series at the Performing Arts Center and a former advisory board member of WLJT-TV.

Ferree has had the privilege of interviewing numerous celebrities like Olympia Dukakis, Winston Churchill, Jr., Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse, Gary Morris, Frances Mayes, Pat Head Summitt and P. Allen Smith.

Currently Ferree, known as the Southern Lifestyles Lady, is a feature writer, travel writer and account executive at VIP City Magazines. She is active in the Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association and Preservation of East Main and Surroundings, and she is a lay reader at St. Luke's Episcopal Church.

During her time at Union, she was a member of the Student Government Association, Student Council, Dean's List, Who's Who, Union University Singers, president of Upsilon chapter of Chi Omega Sorority and queen of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. In 1967, she was named Outstanding Graduate.

Research/Sciences: Haylie Mulliniks ('03)

Haylie Mulliniks graduated from Union in 2003 and then from Southern College of Optometry in 2007. She currently serves as the clinical director at Toyos Clinic, which specializes in refractive surgery and dry eye. Mulliniks is responsible for a team of optometrists at multiple locations and is a practicing optometrist as well. She participates in FDA- and investigator-initiated research studies. Mulliniks also founded and supervises an accredited residency program in Ocular and Refractive Surgery. She serves as adjunct faculty for Southern College of Optometry and is the clinical director for TLC Laser Eye Centers.

In addition to her roles in the field of optometry, Mulliniks presents and lectures on topics in eye care. In 2013, she was selected as Memphis Finest Young Professional by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She is a member of American Optometric Association, American Academy of Optometry, Mississippi Optometric Association, American Optometric Association Contact Lens Section and Beta Sigma Kappa honor society.

Outside of her professional achievements, Mulliniks volunteers in the children's ministry at her church and for educational activities involving handicapped preschool children in the Desoto County Preschool Education Program.

Mulliniks and her husband, Nick ('03), have two children and live in Olive Branch, Mississippi.

Athletics: Luis Ortiz ('04)

Luis Ortiz is in his third season with the San Diego Padres after joining the baseball organization in 2015 as field and hitting coordinator. Prior to San Diego, he spent two seasons as the assistant field coordinator and cultural development coordinator in the Cleveland Indians player development system.

Ortiz spent the previous five seasons from 2008-2012 in the Texas organization as either roving hitting instructor or lower level hitting coordinator. His professional coaching debut came in 2008 as the hitting coach for the Short-A Spokane Indians of the Northwest League. He then served as a roving hitting instructor in the Rangers system from 2009-2011. Prior to the 2012 season, he was promoted to assistant hitting coordinator.

Before his coaching career, Ortiz played professionally for 14 seasons, including four at the major league level. From 1993-1994, he played with Boston before being traded to the Texas Rangers, where he played the 1995-1996 seasons. He spent part of 1997 playing in Japan for the Yakult Swallows before returning to the United States to play in the minors from 1997-2004 with the Texas, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Arizona, Montreal and St. Louis organizations.

Ortiz played collegiately at Union University and was inducted into Union's sports hall of fame in 2007. He was an All-America selection from 1988-1991 and produced an NAIA-record .911 slugging percentage. In 2004, Ortiz returned to school while still playing baseball and became the first Dominican-born person to play in the majors and graduate from college.

Ortiz has published four books on hitting and has released a few instructional videos.

He lives in North Richland Hills, Texas, with his wife, Susan, and their four daughters: Gabriela, Naomi, Samantha and Moriah.

Not-for-Profit: Mandy White ('98)

Mandy White is senior vice president, economic development, of Jackson Chamber. The organization represents over 1,300 business members in Jackson/Madison County.

White began working at the Jackson Chamber in 1999. Currently, she works with Team Madison County to market Jackson to industrial prospects. She is also responsible for workforce development and existing industry relations, helping to identify and assist with growth opportunities for existing companies. Since her involvement with Team Madison County, a total of 8,558 new jobs have been created.

White holds a psychology degree from Union. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute, the Dale Carnegie Training Course, Leadership Jackson and WestStar. She will graduate from the TVA Leadership Institute in 2017.

She has served on advisory committees for both Jackson State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson. She is a member of the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, Southern Economic Development Council, American Chamber of Commerce Research Association and the Tennessee Economic Development Council.

White volunteers with Make-a-Wish of the Mid-South and is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Jackson. She is also a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha Jackson Area Alumnae Association, where she serves as an advisor to the Beta Omega collegiate chapter and is service co-chair of the alumnae chapter.

White was named one of Jackson's Finest Young Professionals in 2012 and was highlighted by Union's 2015 Next Generation of Great Leaders series. She was also named an Outstanding Woman In Business by the Jackson-Madison County African American Chamber of Commerce.

Originally from Ashland City, Tennessee, she and her husband, Darrell, have been married since 2007 and currently reside in Jackson.