Contact Union

402.486.2600
ucinfo@ucollege.edu

3800 S. 48th St.
Lincoln, NE 68506 USA

Enrollment Services

402.486.2504
enroll@ucollege.edu
Admissions homepage

Alumni/Giving

402.486.2503
alumni@ucollege.edu
Advancement homepage

Personnel directory
×
×

background trapezoid Union College Union College | Finding purpose. Unlocking potential.
Union College – Experience the Spirit

About
  • About Union College
    • About Seventh-day Adventists
    • Accreditation
    • College Symbols
    • Consumer Information
    • Employment
    • Employee Resources (login)
    • Mission and Vision
  • Connect with Union
    • News from Union College
    • Contact Us

  • College Leadership
    • Board of Trustees
    • Employee Directory
  • Lincoln, Nebraska, a great place to learn
    • things to do |
    • places to eat |
    • where to stay


Thumbnail of an illustration of campus. Campus map
  • Google Maps
  • Map with accessibility features
Academics
  • Find majors and programs
  • Academic Support
    • Computer labs
    • Library
    • Records Office
    • Studio for Writing and Speaking
  • Information and resources
    • Academic bulletin
    • Academic calendar
    • Canvas
    • Class schedules
    • Final exam schedules
    • Accommodations and accessibility
    • Graduation information
    • Transcript request
  • Student Success
    • Academic and life coaching
    • Disability information and access
    • Career services
    • Tutoring
  • Professional Excellence Program
Alumni
Stay connected to Union
    • Join us for Homecoming!
      • April 7-10, 2022
    • News from Union College
    • Read CORDmagazine
    • Watch live events
    • Find event photos on Facebook
    • Update your info and share news
    • Read Pastor David Kabanje's daily devotionals
  • Advancement Office
  • Ways to give
    • Give online
    • Planned giving
    • More giving opportunities
  • Request transcripts
    (via Parchment)
  • Explore our history
    • Clocktower archive (1927-2010)
    • Educational Messenger (1905-1926)
    • Library photo collections
Campus Life
  • Student Life Office
    • About the Student Life Office
    • Residence Halls
    • Campus apartments
    • Find clubs on uGroups

  • Athletics
    • Varsity calendar
    • High school tournaments
  • Campus Ministries
    • Upcoming events
    • Good Morning Union
    • International Volunteers and Taskforce
    • Project Impact
    • Watch worship services on uTV
  • Services for campus
    • Campus Health
    • Campus Safety
    • Campus Store
    • Information Systems
    • Integrated Marketing Communications
    • Library
    • Student Employment
    • Plant Services
    • Accessibility Services
    • Union Market
Community
  • Services for our community
    • George Stone Elementary School
    • Guest Services at the Ortner Center
      • Guest rooms
      • Meeting spaces
      • Reservations
    • Union Market Dining Services
  •  
    • Larson Lifestyle Center
      • Become a member
      • Facility rental and parties
      • Swimming lessons
    • Library
      • Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
  • Events for our community
    • Athletics
      • Athletic calendar
    • Arts and performance calendar
Parents
  • Prospective parent links
    • Why Union students succeed
    • Finding a calling: read examples
    • Financing a Christian education
      • Scholarships and financial aid
      • Tuition
      • Financial FAQ
      • Financial checklist
      • Financial aid forms
      • Contact Student Financial Services
    • Help plan a campus visit
    • Learn about Lincoln, Nebraska
  • Current parent links
    • Services for parents
      • Order a Party Pack
      • Order LifeSavors
      • Make a payment online
    • Events
      • Parents Weekend (Sept. 23-25, 2022)
      • Graduation (May 5-7, 2023)
      • Watch uTV
      • See photos on Facebook
Thumbnail of the Boones. Watch: parents share how Union helped their daughter find her calling.
Thumbnail of Pastor Rich Carlson. Watch: the 5 biggest decisions in life.
Prospective Students
  • Admissions Office
    • Apply online
    • Union's guarantee
    • Plan your campus visit

  • Financial information
    • Scholarships
    • Costs
    • Financial FAQ
    • Net price calculator
    • Financial aid forms
    • Student Financial Services
  • Learn more about Union
    • Academic and life coaching
    • Residence Halls
    • See our majors and programs
    • Interactive campus map
    • Follow us on Instagram

  • Checklists
    • After you're accepted
    • Financial clearance
    • International students
    • Transfer students
Thumbnail of Mary with play button. Union inspired Mary to excel in nursing and gain spiritual confidence.
Thumbnail of Joslyn with a play button. When a letter arrived from a little Nebraska college, Joslyn heard God calling.
December 2, 2021

Passing on a passion for fitness

One morning while shaving, Rich Reiner made a discovery that proved to be a wakeup call. “I found a bump on my neck,” he said. “That shouldn’t be there.”

At the age of 39 with three young children, he was shocked when a barrage of medical tests determined he had Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma with a less than desirable long-term prognosis.

That was more than 30 years ago.

“It was a wake up call,” said Reiner. He and his wife, Lynnet, began to place a greater emphasis on their health—both changing their diet and becoming much more intentional about exercise.

The couple continued to grow their commitment to fitness as their kids grew up and then into retirement. Lynnet runs the Walt Disney World Marathon every January as well as various half marathons, and the couple love to hike, bike, and ski.

“I have joked with many people about trying to keep up with my wife,” Reiner said. “I do my best.” In addition to the marathons, Lynnet enjoys adding Colorado 14ers to her list of mountains hiked. During the pandemic, they have increased their biking mileages and are enjoying doing rail trails in different states. And they continue to ski every winter in Colorado as well as Switzerland and Italy with a trip planned to Austria this winter.

“We both have a commitment to staying healthy so we can ski with our grandchildren,” he said.

The couple have also long been supporters of Union College, the place where they met. Rich has served on the Board of Trustees for 20 years and the couple established an endowment fund for student scholarships. But Union’s plans to build an expanded wellness center felt personal.

After Rich retired from Adventist Health System (now AdventHealth), Union asked him to serve as interim CFO for several months in 2016. “I stayed in one of the guest rooms,” he remembered. “For years I had gone to the gym every morning, so I went to the Larson Lifestyle Center to exercise. I was not impressed with the facilities.”
Sweating on old workout equipment crowded into small spaces that were not adequately cooled, he thought to himself, “I think we can do better than this.”

So he and Lynnet championed what would ultimately become the Fit for the Future fundraising campaign to build an expanded wellness center at Union College.

Reiner now serves as the campaign chair, and the couple gave a leadership gift for the Reiner Wellness Center inside the new AdventHealth Complex which will nearly triple the size of the current Larson Lifestyle Center.

The couple both grew up on small farms in the midwest with limited resources, but throughout Rich’s career, first working in higher education and then healthcare, the couple invested wisely, including building and purchasing rental properties when they lived in Lincoln after college. “We’ve been blessed financially beyond our wildest dreams,” he said. “We both feel it is important to give back to society and those who come after us.”

Now they are giving some of those properties to Union to help make the project a reality. This becomes a win-win, because the tax consequences for the Reiners can be minimized with the financial benefits going to the Fit for the Future project.

The couple believes in the importance of wellness and hopes to pass that value on to college students as they form their own priorities and life goals. “This project really resonates with us and our values. That’s why I’ve gone all in on our fundraising,” said Rich. “It is really important for us to give back to the college where we both had four great years. We believe this is a project whose time has come.”

Media contact

Ryan Teller
Director of Public Relations
402.486.2600 ext. 2272
ryan.teller@ucollege.edu

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

 

Footer – About/Contact

Union College

... is an accredited, Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher learning in Lincoln, Nebraska since 1891.

  • Learn about Union
  • Consumer Information
  • Employment
  • Website privacy policy

Contact us

ucinfo@ucollege.edu | 402.486.2600
3800 South 48th Street
Lincoln, Nebraska 68506 USA

Footer – Campus systems

Personnel Directory

Employee directory and biographies.

PG

Student directory.

Portal

Register for classes, see grades, make a payment and more.

Canvas

Participate in classes, online.

Footer – Campus systems 2

Library

Access resources and find your study spot.

Calendars

Events | Academic and Class Schedule.

uGroups

Connect and communicate with campus.

Good Morning Union

A devotional thought for every school day.

Footer – Column 4

 

Apply

$

Affordability

Academic Programs

 

Get directions

Ranked top tier by US News
 
News ...
  • News from Union College
  • VIDEO: Invitation to an empty classroom
  • Taming the Amazon (financial disclosures)
  • Celebrating the life of Dr. Marilyn McArthur
  • Norma Mena: learning to live healthy for a lifetime
  • Ed Rusk: a champion of lifestyle change
  • Austin Hill: college is hard, but life can be harder
  • Swimming to Europe and back
  • From running club to Ironman to coach: Union graduate embodies the gift of movement
  • Derek Williams pays it forward
  • Arianna Shay returns to Union as PA clinical director
  • Welcome back, Missy!
  • Amber Cook: the art in racing
  • Home
  • About Union College
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Advancement Office
  • Campus Ministries
  • Campus Services
  • Services for Parents
  • Student Life
  • Student Success