Darnell Wins Educator Of The Year Award From Southern Public Relations Federation

Oct. 04, 2010

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - A University of North Alabama faculty member took home the Educator of the Year award from the Southern Public Relations Federation last week. Lisa Darnell, assistant professor of speech communication, was presented with the award at a three-day convention in Baton Rouge, La. Darnell, who was recognized as Educator of the Year by the Public Relations Council of Alabama in April, represented the state at the regional competition. Darnell, who said her competitors were from larger, regional universities, had no idea she would win the SPRF Educator of the Year award and was speechless when her name was called. "I was shocked, honored and excited," she said. "The award affirms to our students that they have chosen the right college to attend and that we have winning faculty and students in this department." Darnell has been heavily involved since 1993 in organizing and advising UNA-PRCA, the student-run chapter that works in the area of public relations. She has attended the PRCA and SPRF conferences for 18 years and was named SPRF senior practitioner in 2007. Dr. Greg Pitts, chair of the UNA Department of Communications, said Darnell's award proves that UNA can compete with larger universities in the area. "Darnell's award is one more great affirmation of the quality of this department, the commitment of the faculty to the students and the type of professional education our students receive in public relations and other communication programs at UNA," Pitts said. For more information, contact Darnell at 256-765-4596 or Pitts at 256-765-4260.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun and United Athletic conferences. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: una.edu and una.edu/unaworks/.