Issue: Summer 2012 | Posted: June 18, 2012

1050 U.U. Drive

Prestigious survey names Union among nation’s best

When the 2011 survey started, it covered 310 colleges and nearly 44,000 employees nationwide.

Once thousands of responses were recorded and tabulated, The Chronicle of Higher Education identified only three institutions that won honors in 11 separate categories of their “Great Colleges to Work For” survey: Eastern Kentucky University, Gettysburg (Pa.) College and Union University.

Only 111 of the 310 institutions received recognition, and only 30 four-year schools received “honor roll” status. Union was the only school in Tennessee named to that list.

“I want to congratulate our marvelous faculty and staff, as well as the high quality students, who contribute each and every day to this special academic community,” Union President David S. Dockery said. “We are certainly thankful for the dedicated members of the Board of Trustees who offer the guidance and establish the high expectations for this university.”

Kimberly Thornbury, Union’s vice president for student services and dean of students, said the university’s strong sense of community is one of the benefits of working for the institution.

“We have been blessed with a president who is a tremendous leader in higher education,” Thornbury said. “He sets the tone for a campus that is innovative, encouraging and positive. People who come to work for Union seem wonderfully ‘shocked’ at the true level of community in this place.”

More information about “Great Colleges to Work For,” including a listing of all institutions on the list, is available at chronicle.com.