View source for Union Commonwealth University

{{Short description|Private university in Barbourville, Kentucky, U.S.}}
{{about|Union Commonwealth University, formerly the Union College in Kentucky|other institutions of this or a similar name|Union College (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox university
| name = Union Commonwealth University
| former_name = Union College
| image = Old Classroom Building, Union College.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Old Classroom Building 
| motto = Pro Deo Et Homine
| motto_lang = Latin
| mottoeng = For God and Mankind
| established = {{start date and age|1879}}
| type = [[Private university]]
| religious_affiliation = [[United Methodist Church]]
| students = 1,203<ref name=enrollment>As of fall 2016. {{cite web |url=http://cpe.ky.gov/data/reports/HeadcountbyLevelIndependent200616.pdf |title=Student headcount by level: All independent institutions (2006-16) |publisher=Commonwealth of Kentucky |website=Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education | access-date=4 March 2018 }}</ref>
| undergrad = 976<ref name=enrollment/>
| postgrad = 227<ref name=enrollment/>
| president = DJ Washington
| academic_affiliations = [[National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities|NAICU]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naicu.edu/member_center/members.asp|title=Member Center|first=member|last=center|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109231238/http://www.naicu.edu/member_center/members.asp|archive-date=2015-11-09}}</ref><br />[[Council of Independent Colleges|CIC]]
| city = [[Barbourville, Kentucky|Barbourville]]
| state = [[Kentucky]]
| country = United States
| colors = {{color box|#dd5900}} {{color box|black}}<br>Orange & Black
| nickname = Bulldogs
| athletics_affiliations = [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] – [[Appalachian Athletic Conference|Appalachian]]
| website = {{url|https://www.unionky.edu/|unionky.edu}}
| logo = Union comm univ orangelogo.png
| logo_size  = 200
}}

'''Union Commonwealth University''' (formerly '''Union College''') is a [[private university]] in [[Barbourville, Kentucky]]. The university was founded in 1879 and is affiliated with the [[United Methodist Church]]. Union's approximately 825 undergraduate students represent 27 states and nine countries.<ref name=princeton>{{cite web|url=http://www.princetonreview.com/schools/college/CollegeStudents.aspx?iid=1022811|title=Union College (KY)|publisher=princetonreview.com|access-date=26 November 2013}}</ref>

Union's {{convert|100|acre|km2|adj=on}} campus is in southeastern Kentucky. Approximately 44 percent of the students live in three residence halls and apartments on campus.

==Academics==
Union Commonwealth University offers the [[Bachelor of Arts]] and the [[Bachelor of Science]] degrees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unionky.edu/academics/undergraduate-departments-programs-0|title=Undergraduate Programs}}</ref> The college also offers [[Master of Arts]] in Psychology and Education. Additionally, new programs at the Master's level include [[Master of Business Administration]], Master of Science in Administration, and Master of Science in Athletic Administration.

The college operates on a two-[[semester]] calendar, with a May interim session and two summer terms. Students must successfully complete a total of 120 semester hours to earn a bachelor's degree, including 35 hours of required core classes from the four major divisions of study.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unionky.edu/academics/academic-catalogue-resources |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025022119/https://www.unionky.edu/academics/academic-catalogue-resources |archive-date=2017-10-25 |title=Academic Catalogue & Resources {{!}} Union College}}</ref>

===Study abroad===
Union Commonwealth University is a cooperating member of the [[Kentucky Institute for International Studies]] (KIIS). The college joins with a number of other Kentucky colleges and universities to provide summer study opportunities in ten different locations. The programs in [[Argentina]], [[France]], [[Spain]], [[Mexico]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Italy]] and [[Ecuador]] are open to all Union College students, who may earn credits toward their degree at Union.

=== Rankings ===
Union Commonwealth University's ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of U.S. ''News & World Report''<nowiki/>'s [[U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking|Best Colleges]] was #103-135 among "Regional Universities South".<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 12, 2022 |title=U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Union College (KY) |url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/union-college-kentucky-1988#:~:text=Union%20College%20(KY)'s,tuition%20and%20fees%20are%20%2428%2C889. |website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>

==Campus==
The campus  includes more than 100 gently rolling acres covered in overhanging elms, mountain laurel, and Georgian architecture. The [[Wilderness Road]] spans the east side of the campus, and [[Cumberland Gap National Historical Park]] is approximately {{convert|30|mi|km}} away. The campus is in the city of Barbourville, approximately {{convert|17|mi|km}} east of [[Interstate 75]] and surrounded by four [[state park]]s filled with falls, lakes, and streams.

===Academic facilities===
The Weeks-Townsend Memorial Library contains more than 160,000 books, periodicals, government documents, media materials and online reference and full-text databases.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unionky.edu/Library/default.asp|title=Library & Information Resources}}</ref> Library functions, including the public catalog access (OPAC), circulation and reserves are fully automated through the Sirsi Unicorn Collection Management System. The 20-seat computer lab is the center of campus access to the Internet, including email and the World Wide Web. The college also has a variety of computers accessible to students. The library and Centennial computer labs each contain 20 workstations and a laser printer connected to the campus network. A third lab, the Hensley lab, provides the same type of access with 17 computers. The labs are open a variety of hours each week to support the academic programs and provide student access to the campus network.

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) provides free services to Union Commonwealth University students in several academic support areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unionky.edu/Acad/SpecPrg/ARC.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030224102746/http://www.unionky.edu/Acad/SpecPrg/ARC.asp |archive-date=2003-02-24 |title=Student Support Services at Union College - The Academic Resource Center}}</ref> Individual tutoring is available in a variety of subject areas in both upper and lower division classes. Students may work with a tutor to review for classes, refresh [[study skills]], or prepare for professional examinations such as GMAT, LSAT, MCAT, GRE, and NTE. Each semester, courses that have been deemed academically challenging are selected for [[Supplemental Instruction]] (SI). Students attend group study sessions, which are held a minimum of three times a week with a student leader who has already excelled in that particular course. The SI leaders model good study strategies and encourage collaborative learning.

The Sharp Academic Center is one of the primary classroom facilities on campus. Named for alumnus and Nobel Laureate [[Phillip Allen Sharp]], the Sharp Academic Center was added to a remodeled dormitory, providing classroom and office space. Currently, the offices include the Office of the President, the Office of the Academic Vice President, Student Support Services, the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Department of History.

The Ramsey Center is an additional classroom and laboratory space on campus. Named for [[Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey]], the center was remodeled from the former Knox County Hospital. This building houses the Department of Natural Sciences, the Psychology Department, and the Edna Jenkins Mann School of Nursing.

==Athletics==
{{Main|Union Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs}}
[[file:Union_bulldogs_ky_logo.png|thumb|120px|Union athletics logo]]
Union Commonwealth University's athletic teams are called the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs. The university is a member of the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA), primarily competing in the [[Appalachian Athletic Conference]] (AAC) for most of its sports since the 2002–03 academic year;<ref>{{cite web|title=Schools|url=http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=205322922|website=NAIA.ORG|publisher=NAIA|access-date=16 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="AAC Membership">{{cite web|title=Members|url=http://www.aacsports.com/members.php|publisher=Appalachian Athletic Conference|access-date=16 March 2016}}</ref> while its men's & women's bowling and archery teams compete in the [[Mid-South Conference]] (MSC), which they previously competed as a full member from 1995–96 to 2001–02.

Union Commonwealth competes in 22 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include archery and cheerleading. Former sports included men's lacrosse, co-ed cycling, and co-ed dance. [[Intramural]] sports vary according to student request. The university recently completed new tennis courts and a softball field and refurbished the baseball, soccer, and football fields.

===Accomplishments===
Union Commonwealth University men's basketball also recently won their first NAIA Division II national title in the 2016–17 season. This marked the schools third team national championship, the first two were earned by the cycling team in 2002 and 2012.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gounionbulldogs.com/SIDHelp/splashPage/9.php|title = Union College}}</ref>

==Notable alumni==
*[[G. Lindsey Davis]], [[Bishop]] of the [[United Methodist Church]]
*[[Flem D. Sampson]], the 42nd [[Governor of Kentucky]]
*[[Phillip Allen Sharp]], co-recipient of the 1993 [[Nobel Prize]] for Medicine<ref name=princeton /> for work that altered scientists' understanding of the structure of [[gene]]s, received his undergraduate degree at Union College.
*[[Derek Smith (soccer)|Derek Smith]], soccer player who currently plays for [[Cincinnati Kings]] in the [[USL Premier Development League]].
*[[William A. Stanfill]], member of the [[United States Senate]] from Kentucky
*[[Armond Smith]], former NFL running back

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{ccat}}
* {{oweb}}
* [https://www.gounionbulldogs.com/ Athletics website]

{{Kentucky Higher Education}}
{{MethodistColleges}}
{{Appalachian Athletic Conference navbox}}
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[[Category:Union College (Kentucky)| ]]
[[Category:Private universities and colleges in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1879]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Knox County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Education in Knox County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:1879 establishments in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Methodist Church]]
[[Category:Barbourville, Kentucky]]