By University President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver
The new library at Union is beautiful, and it is going to be an incredible resource for us all. We are deeply grateful to the over 1,500 people who have given to this project and helped make it a reality. As is traditional on most college campuses, we initially intended for the building to bear the name of the lead donors—Bill and Carol Latimer.
As I met with Bill and Carol, they were clear that they did not want the building to be named for them. Bill and Carol are gracious people who seek to love and serve others. I never will forget Bill saying to me, “Dub, this is not about us, and we don’t want it to reflect glory to us. We want it to bear a name that points people to Christ.”
As I was praying and thinking about what name we could suggest to them, a name that would emphasize Union’s mission and core values, I kept returning to some of the most beautiful and important prose ever written: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
The Word—the Logos.
What if the building that is full of words, literally, could be named in a way to point us to the True Word?
When I suggested The Logos to Bill and Carol, they immediately embraced it. “Yes,” they said, “that’s it.”
We talk a lot about faith and learning at Union. The library is certainly a place for learning—in many ways, the intellectual heart of the University. The library is a place where all disciplines come together. There is no doubt that words (and books full of words) are important on any university campus. At Union, that importance is not separated from the Living Word of Christ. Our library—The Logos—points everyone to Jesus, Who by all things were created and in Whom all things hold together.
As you see the gold cross atop the dome, as you study intently within its walls, as you share conversations over coffee, as you read a favorite book looking out over the Great Lawn and as you deepen relationships with friends during the hours spent here, may all of it point you to the One the building is named for—The Logos.
I love The Logos! Thanks to Bill and Carol. Thanks to Dr. Dub. Thanks to all the donors. Thanks to the outstanding faculty and students. And most importantly, thanks and praise to the Lord for His goodness and grace. All for His Glory, Pastor Tom Clemmons, Monument, Colorado. Father of senior UU student, Zack Clemmons.
As a student at Union, I spent a good bit of time in the library and in a music hall practice room. Of course, that was when were under ONE roof. I am so proud of the growth Union is experiencing and thankful for the leadership it has had for many years. The Logos is an amazingly appropriate name for the new library. Kudos.
Thanks you to this loving couple for sharing there testimony to Christ. Not only in there gift but in the name “The Logos”. What better name could there be then a reminder why this library is there. My wife and I spent many hours studying in our former library.