FLORENCE, AL - Today, January 11, is Founders' Day at the University of North Alabama, a day dedicated to the institution's founding in Colbert County in 1830 and solidifying UNA's role as Alabama's oldest four-year university. Cookies and t-shirts were distributed on campus to students, faculty, and staff as part of the day's events.

"On this Founders' Day, our University is making good on its commitment to deliver a high- quality educational experience for our students," said UNA President Dr. Ken Kitts. "Student interest in UNA is at an all-time high. Our enrollment is now well over 8,000, with additional growth forecast for Fall 2021. We are also setting records with our retention and graduation rates, both of which are key indicators of student satisfaction."

The Founders' Day event was initiated in 2020 for UNA's 190th birthday and leading up to UNA's Bicentennial in 2030. In its first year in operation, in 1830, LaGrange College, as it was known then, welcomed 70 students and faculty to campus. Since then, there have been eight name changes and one change of address. It became the University of North Alabama in 1974.

"There is a lot for us to commemorate at UNA," said Dr. Tammy Jacques, Student Affairs Assistant Vice President and Founders' Day coordinator. "Later this year, we'll begin the Year of the UNA Woman, which is a celebration of the admittance of women to UNA 150 years ago. We are always looking forward and looking ahead."

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 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/