Faculty Contributions And Niosh Help Fund Scholarships For 30 Students

Jan. 18, 2011

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@xt23z.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala. - Paying for college just got easier for students majoring in chemistry and industrial hygiene at the University of North Alabama. The Department of Chemistry and Industrial Hygiene has awarded 31 deserving students with endowed scholarships, faculty contributions and grant money from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Dr. Brent Olive, department chair and associate professor of chemistry and industrial hygiene, said the endowed scholarships were initially funded when former UNA professor Raymond Isbell made the decision to retire in the early 1990s and volunteered to continue teaching for a year, with his salary going toward a scholarship for incoming freshmen from Colbert County High School. Since Isbell's retirement, other former UNA professors, including Dr. Charles Richman and Dr. Tom Murray, followed suit and gave their salaries to separate endowment funds upon retirement. Faculty members in the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Hygiene also contribute a small portion of each paycheck to a separate scholarship for deserving students. "As always, giving scholarships is about the recruitment and retention of students who need the money," Olive said. "Books can be very expensive. One of the books for my class is $200, and that's not even counting lab costs. It's about providing financial aid and helps us recruit and maintain students in this department." The department was also awarded a grant from NIOSH, which works with the Center for Disease Control to prevent illnesses and injuries in the workplace. Olive said NIOSH supplies thousands of dollars in grant money to UNA, which is then divided into numerous scholarships for students majoring in industrial hygiene. To qualify for the endowed and NIOSH scholarships, students must make satisfactory progress toward graduation with a degree in professional chemistry or industrial hygiene, enroll in at least one chemistry or industrial hygiene course in the fall and spring semesters, maintain a 3.0 GPA in courses related to their major and keep an overall 3.0 UNA GPA. The following UNA students are receiving scholarship funds for spring 2011 semester: 
Endowed scholarship recipients: Haley Albright, a Professional Chemistry junior, of Lexington Jonathan Bigham, a Professional Chemistry and Industrial Hygiene freshman, of Killen Ethan Cagle, a Professional Chemistry junior, of Killen Justin Coleman, an Industrial Hygiene freshman, of Killen Alexander Edwards, a Professional Chemistry and Finance freshman, of Florence Dylan Haddock, a Professional Chemistry sophomore, of Lexington Leslie Harvey, a Professional Chemistry freshman, of Athens Mary McDaniel, a Professional Chemistry and Physics sophomore, of Florence Tasha Mckinney, a Professional Chemistry junior, of Lawrenceburg, Tenn. Chelsea Moon, a Professional Chemistry freshman, of Tuscumbia Mary Motes, a General Chemistry/Secondary Education senior, of Russellville Allyson NeeSmith, a Professional Chemistry freshman, of Florence Allison Norton, an Industrial Hygiene freshman, of Leighton Kathryn Russell, a Professional Chemistry freshman, of Killen Stephen Smith, a Professional Chemistry junior, of Muscle Shoals Corey Williams, a Professional Chemistry junior, of Russellville One-semester faculty contributions scholarship recipient: Allison Brown, a General Chemistry senior, of Killen NIOSH scholarship recipients: Robert Bailey III, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry senior, of Florence Caleb Beck, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry junior, of Muscle Shoals Hayley Borden, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry senior, of Killen John Adam Butler, an Industrial Hygiene sophomore, of Lexington Ronald Crow, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry junior, of Tuscumbia Chris Haynes, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry junior, of Lexington Samantha Hunt, an Industrial Hygiene, Chemistry and Biology senior, of Savannah, Tenn. Heather Kelly, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry junior, of Killen Kyle Patterson, an Industrial Hygiene senior, of Double Springs Theus Rowell, an Industrial Hygiene post-baccalaureate, of Florence Jacob Smith, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry junior, of Lexington Clifford Stout, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry sophomore, of Killen Hannah Summers, an Industrial Hygiene and General Chemistry freshman, of Hartselle For more information on funding an endowed scholarship at UNA, contact Missy Pettus, endowed scholarships coordinator, at 256-765-4757 or rmpettus@xt23z.com.

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: xt23z.com and xt23z.com/unaworks/.