UNA Commencement Set for Dec. 8-9

Nov. 28, 2023

Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – Approximately 800 students are set to graduate from the University of North Alabama on Dec. 8-9 during five ceremonies that will take place in Norton Auditorium.   

Peggy Sellers Benson, Executive Officer of the Alabama Board of Nursing, will provide the address for the Dec. 8 ceremonies, which will include graduate and undergraduate students in the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions and the College of Education and Human Sciences. Hon. Andrew E. Betterton, Mayor of the City of Florence, will provide the address for the Dec. 9 ceremonies, which will include graduate and undergraduate students in the College of Arts, Science, and Engineering as well as the Sanders College of Business and Technology. 

“The impressive number of graduates this fall speaks to the other markers of excellence,” said Dr. Ken Kitts, President. “We continue to enroll large numbers of students from across the state and region, and we have also experienced record retention for Fall 2023. That tells me that UNA continues to be a first choice for students seeking a degree in one of our many outstanding academic programs who will, upon graduation, seek to fulfill roles right here in Alabama.”     

A leader in healthcare and nursing with 45 years of experience, Benson brings a wealth of experience to her role on the Alabama Board of Nursing. She has served as ABN's Executive Officer since 2014 and the Alabama Nurse Licensure Compact's Commissioner since 2020. As a board-certified nurse executive, she has worked in many nursing and human resources roles. Benson has served as Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), Director of Critical Care and Medical Surgical Nursing for a five-hospital system, Director of Nursing for and Vice President of Human Resources, and Legal Nurse Consultant for the Alabama Board of Nursing. Benson is a current member of the Governor’s Healthcare Workforce Task Force, the Policy and Procedures Committee of the National Licensure Commission, and the Finance Committee of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.  

Andrew Betterton was inaugurated as Mayor of the City of Florence on Nov. 2, 2020. Betterton previously worked for 33 years as the Chief Financial Officer for a local electrical supply company. He served for 12 years as a Florence City Council member and seven years as a school board member for the sixth district of Florence. In 1975, Betterton graduated from the University of North Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Music. He later earned a Master of Arts in Education at UNA. He and his wife, Sandra, have three children and seven grandchildren. 

 

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering credential, certificate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. The first-choice University for more than 10,000 on-campus and online students, UNA is on a bucolic campus in Florence, Alabama, part of the historic and vibrant Shoals region. Lions 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 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/