On April 8, John Netland announced he will step down from the provost position at Union University to resume a teaching role in the English department. Jacob Shatzer was named the new provost, effective July 1, 2024.
Netland was appointed provost in 2017. Before he was provost, he served as an English professor at Union University and as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
“I’m particularly excited to be back in the classroom,” Netland said. “My own field is in 19th century British literature, so if opportunities open up in there, I’ll be very happy to do that. I’m equally eager to get back in the classroom with first and second year students. I think that’s one of the selling points for places like Union; we want everybody, our best faculty, to be teaching first and second year students, so that’s something I look forward to.”
Shatzer joined the Union faculty the same year that Netland was appointed provost. Shatzer served as an assistant professor of theological studies and associate dean of the School of Theology and Missions. In 2020, he became an assistant provost, and in 2023, he was named Union’s associate provost.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to learn about a lot of other areas in the university,” Shatzer said. “I’m a homebody. I like being home. I like being with my family; so that’s, another thing I’m excited about being provost is I need to be here. So I’ll be plenty busy, but I don’t expect to be gone as much.”
Shatzer and Netland both felt a calling to their change in roles.
“I’ve been at Union for seven years, and I started in a role that was kind of half teaching half administration,” Shatzer said. “The Lord just really brought opportunity for me to experience more administrative leadership roles and that, over a couple years, just confirmed my calling to this kind of work.”
Netland shared that the thought of transitioning to the teaching role had been on his mind for a while.
“I want to finish my career well, and one of the scripture verses I’ve been meditating on a lot is Psalm 90:12, where the psalmist says, ‘teach us O Lord to number our days,’” Netland said. “We don’t have control over that. We don’t know how many those are, but we do have the opportunity to use them wisely. I just really have had the conviction for the past number of months that the best thing I can do in the number of time God gives me in my working career is to be back in the classroom, teaching and writing and working with students.”
Shatzer has served in various roles at Union outside of teaching and administration, including on the university curriculum committee, the council of chairs and the core revision task team.
As provost, Shatzer is looking forward to sorting out a way to imagine and articulate a vision for academic programs at Union over the next 5-10 years.
“We want to be a place where there’s also excitement and things growing and new things,” Shatzer said.
Shatzer’s colleagues shared they are excited to see him in his position as provost. Union University’s President Samuel “Dub” Oliver said that Shatzer is a great leader, scholar and teacher.
“We are blessed to have someone already on campus who is so well prepared to take on this important role at Union,” Oliver said. “His commitment to Christ and to excellence in all things will help us advance Union’s mission for years ahead.”
Shatzer and Netland plan on advancing Union and finding ways to improve the school in their new positions.
“Union is a great place,” Netland said. “We have a really good story to tell, and I’m looking forward to be able to tell that story and to renew and rekindle and encourage an interest in the liberal arts disciplines because I think they are more vital than they ever have been.”
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