Trinity President and First Lady honored with new lecture series

JACKSON, Tenn. - Union University has announced it will launch a new lecture series in the spring that honors Trinity International University President David S. Dockery and First Lady Lanese Dockery.

The Dockery Lectures on Baptist Thought and Heritage will be an annual event designed to examine the importance of the Baptist heritage, the distinctives of Baptist thought and the influence of the Christian intellectual tradition, according to a news release from Union.

"All of us are deeply grateful to David and Lanese Dockery for their inestimable contributions to Union University," Union President Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver said. "I am confident that the legacy of Dr. Dockery's outstanding leadership will only be enhanced as the Dockery Lectures continue on campus year by year."

Dockery expressed gratitude to Oliver, Union Provost C. Ben Mitchell, and Nathan Finn, dean of the School of Theology and Missions at Union, for their enthusiastic support for the new series and to former colleagues who have pledged financial support for it.

"It is our hope that the lecture series will feature the very best Baptist thinkers in this country and around the globe, even as it captures the best of the Baptist tradition that has shaped Union University through the years," Dockery said. "We pray that the lectures will be beneficial for the Union community and will be informative in shaping the Baptist world at-large."

Dockery served as Union president for 18 years. He was elected as president of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, in 2014.

Jim Patterson, Union's associate dean for the School of Theology and Missions and university professor of Christian thought and tradition, will give the inaugural lecture in the series March 14, 2017.

"I am thrilled to be designated as the inaugural presenter," Patterson said. "David Dockery has contributed significantly to the study of Baptist thought and tradition, so I find it challenging to honor what he has already done, and also to explore some additional aspects of Baptist history that will help preserve our denominational legacy and suggest how best to define our identity in the 21st century."

Mitchell, a former Trinity faculty member who still serves as adjust professor of bioethics, said the lectureship honors the Dockerys' commitment "to celebrating the legacy of our Baptist forebears" and also recognizes the contribution the Dockerys have made to recent Baptist history. Finn said the lecture series shows Union's continued commitment to its Baptist heritage and to its ongoing partnership with Southern Baptists.

"I'm grateful to God for this lecture series and the way it will enable us to continue to contribute to the discipline of Baptist studies and, Lord willing, the ongoing renewal of Baptist theology, spirituality and mission," Finn said. "Praise God for David and Lanese Dockery, for their generosity and their commitment to preserving and passing on Baptist orthodoxy."

Donations to support the Dockery Lectures on Baptist Thought and Heritage can be made at www.uu.edu/giving/dockery