Union University Selects New President
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JACKSON, Tenn. – Union University trustees have selected Samuel W. (“Dub”) Oliver, president of East Texas Baptist University, as the 16th unanimous Feb. 10 vote. Oliver, 48, succeeds David S. Dockery, who has served as Union’s president for the past 18 years. Oliver will be spending some time at Union throughout the spring semester and will begin full-time on June 1. The trustee vote affirms a recommendation from the search committee appointed one year ago this month to select a new president. The committee conducted a national search, considering more than 130 nominations prior to bringing their recommendation to elect Oliver. A native of San Antonio, Oliver has been the ETBU president since 2009. The university in Marshall, Texas, enrolls about 1,250 students and employs about 300 faculty and staff. Prior to the ETBU presidency, Oliver served his alma mater, Baylor University, in several roles, including director of student activities (1992-99), associate dean for campus life (1999-2001), dean for student development (2001-05) and vice president for student life (2005-09). While at Baylor, Oliver also served as a visiting professor in the Hankamer School of Business, an adjunct professor in the School of Education and interim university chaplain. He served in the U.S. Air Force in the late 1980s at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. Oliver completed a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Baylor and a Master of Science degree in educational psychology and a Doctor of Philosophy in educational administration from Texas A&M. Before entering graduate school, he was a third grade teacher in the Fort Worth Independent School District. He is also a licensed and ordained Baptist minister, serving as pastor of Canaan Baptist Church in Crawford, Texas, from 2003-2009.Oliver and his wife Susie Combs Oliver will celebrate their 25thyear. Susie is a native of Hazard, Ky., and a graduate of Eastern Kentucky University. They have a daughter Callie who is a senior at Baylor.
