Momentum Points To Growth For Una

Feb. 01, 2012

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

FLORENCE, Ala. - Growth and momentum are two words University of North Alabama President Dr. William G. Cale Jr. keeps coming back to when discussing the recent and current activity on campus. "Building renovations, new construction, new programming, six- and seven-figure scholarship gifts, a move toward NCAA Division I athletics - it all has a way of generating an excitement and energy that cannot help but lead to greater institutional strength and growth," he said. Following a long list of building and advancement initiatives, UNA's latest signal of growth has been a remarkable increase in applications and acceptances for the fall 2012 semester. As of January, the university had seen a 21.77 percent increase in new-student applications and a 25 percent increase in acceptances from January 2011. "These numbers are significant," Cale said. "We cannot point to just one action, project or initiative that has led to these increases. It's a product of everything that's happening here right now. It's all connected. A greater, stronger UNA is being built right before our eyes, and that growth is showing in many different ways." UNA admissions director Kim Mauldin said prospective students, when searching colleges, are "looking for a place where things are happening, where great achievements are being made. Look all around UNA today, and you can see that's what we offer. Students are drawn to energy and momentum." Just outside of Mauldin's Coby Hall office window is a physical sign of UNA's current growth: the construction of the new Black Box Theatre, scheduled to open later this spring. The university is also preparing to break ground on a new Academic Center and Student Commons as well as a much-anticipated Science and Technology Center. In 2011, UNA saw alumni giving surge by about 300 percent, while members of the Shoals community stepped up with $100,000-$1 million gifts toward new scholarship funds for local students. "Community support like this is absolutely vital to the kind of growth and momentum we are currently seeing," Cale said. "As we continue to see this kind of support, we can expect to see an even greater university and, thereby, a greater community for the Shoals."