UNA Pressroom

UNA’s Winter Commencement Set for Dec. 13, 14

Dec. 03, 2024



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

FLORENCE, AL – Winter commencement ceremonies at the University of North Alabama are set for Friday and Saturday, Dec. 13-14, at Norton Auditorium.

Dr. Sharon Holley (’91), an Associate Professor and Director of Master’s Nurse-Midwifery Didactic Education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will serve as the speaker for both Friday ceremonies. Kerry L. Underwood (’90), State Representative, Alabama House District 3, will be the speaker for the three ceremonies on Saturday.

“Graduation is a milestone that marks the culmination of our students’ academic journeys, whether they are earning undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degrees,” said Dr. Brien Smith, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “From the excitement of being admitted to UNA to the fulfillment of achieving their degrees, this moment reflects their dedication and preparation for success in their future careers.”

Dr. Holley’s experience includes full-scope clinical practice as a Certified Nurse-Midwife for 27 years. She has been an educator for nurse-midwifery students since 2010 at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville and at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Mass., before returning to UAB School of Nursing in 2021 to restart the MSN Nurse-Midwifery Pathway. She serves on the Alabama Maternal Mortality Review Committee, the Alabama Joint Committee with the Board of Nursing and the Board of Medical Examiners, and is the Vice President for the Alabama affiliate for the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

In 2016, Underwood was elected to serve as Mayor for the city of Tuscumbia and had that position until 2022 when he was then elected as an Alabama State Representative of District 3. He chaired the Shoals Industrial Development Commission and supported the Shoals Chamber of Commerce as it worked to improve the quality of life for the region. As a State Representative, Underwood is a member of the Rural, TVA, and Sportsman caucus and is appointed to a number of committees, including Ways and Means-General Fund; Financial Services; and Boards, Agencies, and Commissions.

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/.