UNA Pressroom

Fall Commencement To Feature Three Speakers, Six Ceremonies

Nov. 30, 2020



Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@hr888888.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

Nov. 30, 2019

FLORENCE, AL - The fall commencement for the University of North Alabama will include six ceremonies and feature three speakers. The event, which will follow all health and safety protocols and limit guests to four per graduate, will take place Friday, Dec. 11, and Saturday, Dec. 12, in Norton Auditorium.

  • On Friday, Dec. 11, at 5 p.m. undergraduate students from the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions and the College of Education and Human Sciences will graduate. At 7:30 p.m. graduate students from the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions and the College of Education and Human Sciences will receive their degrees.

  • On Saturday, Dec. 12, at 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., undergraduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences will graduate. At 2 p.m., undergraduate students from the College of Business will graduate, while at 4:30 p.m., graduate students from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business will receive their degrees.

Dr. Phillip A. Bishop will provide the commencement addresses on Dec. 11. He was a professor emeritus in exercise science at The University of Alabama from 1984 until his retirement in 2016. Dr. Bishop is an expert on suspension trauma and is cited in OSHA's Suspension Trauma Rule. In 2013, Dr. Bishop served as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Botswana. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, James Madison University, and the University of Georgia.

Anne C. Whitaker, the Chief Executive Officer of Aerami Therapeutics and a member of the UNA Board of Trustees, will speak to graduates at the 9 and 11:30 a.m. commencement events on Dec. 12. She was recognized by PharmaVoice as one of the Top 100 most Inspiring Leaders in Healthcare and by Women, Inc., as one of the most influential Corporate Directors in 2019. Anne has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from UNA.

Jamie Kiel, State Representative for Alabama House District 18 and a UNA graduate, will provide the address for the afternoon commencement events on Dec. 12. He serves on the Ways and Means Education Committee, which oversees the state's more than $8 million education

budget. Kiel is also a member of the UNA Foundation Board and the UNA College of Education and Human Sciences Advisory Board.

In order to allow guests to celebrate with their graduate and maintain a safe environment, the following steps will be implemented:

  • All graduates, guests, and staff are required to wear a face covering. Face coverings will be provided for graduates and staff only. Guests must provide their own face coverings.

  • Graduates are allowed a maximum of four guests. The graduate and their guests must check in together as a party. A health screening questionnaire will be assessed, temperatures will be checked for all members of the graduate's party. If any member of the graduate's party answers "yes" to a health screening question or has a temperature of 100.4 F or above, no one in the graduate's party will be allowed in the ceremony, including the graduate.

  • The guests of the graduate's party will be given wrist bands and escorted to their seats as a group.

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate 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: wioq.hr888888.com and wioq.hr888888.com/unaworks/