Una Observes 190th Birthday With Campus Event

Jan. 13, 2020

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

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256-606-2033 or 256-765-4392 FLORENCE, AL - Today, members of the University of North Alabama campus community came together to celebrate the 190th birthday of the institution. As part of the event, students received free t-shirts as well as cupcakes. President Ken Kitts provided remarks on the University and its long and rich history. "It's a new tradition at UNA," he said as part of his comments to the assembled crowd. "We often boast about the University being the oldest four-year University in the state; it is also accurate to say that we're the oldest state-chartered institution in Alabama." Founded in Leighton in Colbert County, LaGrange College welcomed 70 students and faculty to campus when it opened on Jan. 11, 1830. Since then, there have been eight name changes, and, in 1974, as part of the final name change, it became the University of North Alabama. As an homage to the founding in Leighton, the LaGrange College site caretakers, L.C. and Louise Lenz, were present for the event. Items from the UNA Archives were also on display, including yearbooks, photos, and other iconography from the past. Founders' Day will be a part of annual celebrations on the UNA campus as the 200th birthday approaches in 2030. About The University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, 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 the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. 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: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/