International Students to Benefit from Endowed Gifts
May. 20, 2022
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – International students at the University of North Alabama will benefit from two recent endowed gifts given by Dr. Ross Alexander, the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, and his wife, Lilia, as well as from Senior Vice Provost for International Affairs Dr. Chunsheng Zhang and his wife Dr. Guihua Li.
“Lilia and I are pleased to support our fine and deserving international students with this fund,” said Dr. Alexander. We want to be sure that they are supported during their studies at UNA so that they can concentrate on their studies and degree completion.”
The Alexanders’ gift is personal in nature as Lilia was an international student herself and often had to decide between staying on campus or traveling to her home country of Bulgaria.
“As an international student herself, Lilia endured a serious personal hardship during the course of her studies,” Dr. Alexander said. “A fund such as this one would have assisted her tremendously.”
Dr. Zhang said this gift will transform the lives of international students, helping them fulfill their dreams of earning a degree and finding success. He and his wife, Dr. Li, also endowed a gift that will support the greatest needs and emerging priorities of the Office of International Affairs.
“Guihua and I feel very fortunate to work for such a great university,” Dr. Zhang said. “We have been blessed with the opportunities to work with inspiring leaders, supportive colleagues and aspirational students at UNA. It is our hope that this endowment will enable the Office of International Affairs to do greater things in championing UNA as a leader in global learning, understanding, and peace.”
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/.