UNA’s Pretes Selected as Distinguished Visiting Professor at the United States Air Force Academy
Feb. 29, 2024
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – University of North Alabama’s Dr. Michael Pretes, Professor and Chair of Geoscience, has been selected as the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Geography at the United States Air Force Academy for the 2024-25 academic year, beginning in July. He will spend one year in Colorado Spring as a civilian professor in the Academy’s Department of Economics and Geosciences, where he will instruct Air Force cadets in world regional and cultural geography, as well as advise and mentor them.“I am looking forward to this opportunity to serve at the Air Force Academy and to teach, advise, and mentor our future Air Force officers,” Dr. Pretes said. “Training in geography is crucial to our military. A knowledge of such things as map use, weather, terrain, geopolitics, and world cultures can make the difference in mission success. I am honored to be selected for this position, and it also highlights the excellence of the Geoscience program at the University of North Alabama.”
The Air Force Academy, a United States service academy, is a highly selective institution with more than 500 mostly military staff and more than 4,000 cadets from across the United States.
Dr. Pretes has taught at UNA for 18 years and is the recipient of many awards and honors in Geography. His year of service at the Air Force Academy will help forge links between Alabama and the Air Force and bring recognition to the University.
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/