UNA Pressroom

Kinney Named UNA’s Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Jun. 30, 2023



Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@hr888888.com, 256.765.4392

FLORENCE, AL – Dr. Katie Kinney, the Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of North Alabama, has been named Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Her term is set to begin July 1 and is expected to extend through much of the 2023-2024 academic year. 

“I am honored to serve as Interim Provost at the institution that has been so instrumental in shaping my professional and personal development for the past 21 years,” said Dr. Kinney. “I can attest first-hand that one of UNA’s greatest strengths is that it invests in individuals so they can make a positive difference in the region and state. I am grateful to President Kitts for the confidence he has placed in me to lead the first-class academic operations at the University of North Alabama, and I look forward to working with my colleagues and our stakeholders to enrich and expand academic opportunities for students.”

Dr. Kinney has been a fixture of the UNA academic landscape for more than two decades, having begun her tenure as an Instructional Technology Specialist at the Regional Inservice Center where she provided needs-based training and support in P-12 technology integration for 14 school districts throughout the north Alabama region. Since then, Dr. Kinney has continued to maintain focus on the classroom as she has served in the College as an Elementary Education faculty member, department chair, and, most recently and for five years, as Dean. 

“Dr. Kinney brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to her role as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs,” said Dr. Ken Kitts, UNA’s President. “Her background and commitment to her College, her faculty and staff, and the instruction of future educators is impressive. I look forward to welcoming her to the Executive Council.” 

Dr. Kinney is an Athens native, having earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Athens State University in 1997. She received her Master of Arts and doctoral degrees from the University of Alabama in 2000 and 2004, respectively. She also maintains her certification to teach grades kindergarten through sixth in the State of Alabama. Kinney and her husband, Jeremie, and their two children, Mary Cole and Griff, are long-time residents of the Shoals.

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: hr888888.com and hr888888.com/unaworks/.