Union College has announced the appointment of five new at-large members to its Board of Trustees.

The new trustees, who began their service on October 30, 2021, are Rev. Dr. Barry Ball; Chris Stunson; Dr. Ruth Wooton-Kee; Dr. Billy J. Hensley; & Bill Fultz. 

In addition to the five new members, Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg is returning to the board after a mandatory one year leave of absence. 

Rev. Dr. Barry Ball is a longtime friend of Union College and is following in his father footsteps, Bill Ball Jr. ’58, by serving on the Board. Ball earned his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, during that time he participated in a chemical dependency class at Union to help prepare him for his doctoral project. The retired DEA Agent heads the initiative of the West Virginia Conference to help United Methodist churches deal with the opioid crisis. Ball is a leading donor on the William and Elizabeth Ball Endowed Scholarship at Union. 

A native of Richmond, Chris Stunson earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and education in 2008 and is currently the Principal of Bristow Elementary School in Bowling Green. As a student at Union, he was a leader on the basketball court and in the classroom. As a professional, Stunson has quickly risen through the ranks. In 2020, Stunson was named to Bowling Green’s Top 40 un 40 list. Stunson also serves on the KDE Principal’s Advisory Council. 

Dr. Ruth Wooton-Kee is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics-Nutrition and Molecular & Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. In 2010, she was a Union College Alumni Association Rising Star Award recipient, which is given to outstanding graduates who are enjoying career success and continually give back to their community and Union College. Wooton-Kee has devoted a lot of her professional career in biomedical research which has led to multiple peer reviewed publications and 3 studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Billy J. Hensley, Ph.D., is president and CEO of the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). Hensley currently serves on the board of the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, where he chairs the education committee. He also is on the editorial board of the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. Hensley received his Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, where he was named Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year in educational studies, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Union.

Bill Fultz is a retired coach, educator, and entrepreneur. Fultz earned his bachelor’s degree from Union all while gathering numerous honors in both basketball and track. His success didn’t stop after college, Fultz went on to coach basketball at both the college and high school level and served as an assistant principal and principal in the Madison County School District.  In 2019, Fultz was inducted into the Union College Athletic Hall of Fame. 

Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg is a 1963 graduate, currently serving as a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. In 2018, she was named the SEC Professor of the year. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Marcetta hails from Artemus. “These mountains are a part of my career.”