| The UNA
National Alumni Association is proud of the rich 175
year history of our university which traces its roots to
LaGrange College. For the past 175 years, UNA has
educated the young men and women of the Shoals, the
South, the nation, and now with our energized
international program, the world. Many of those alumni
have become excellent leaders in their separate fields
of endeavor.
LaGrange College opened its
doors to students January 11, 1830, and received its
charter from the Alabama Legislature eight days later,
making it the first state-chartered school to begin
operation in Alabama.
The college, which had been
founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church, moved to
Florence and became Florence Wesleyan University in
1855. The church gave the school to the State of Alabama
which changed the name to State Normal of Florence in
1872. By virtue of that transition, the school became
the first state supported teachers college south of the
Ohio River. The next year, it was opened to female
students, making the school one of the first co-ed
institutions in the U.S. The institution has had
numerous names, including several variations on Florence
State, before settling on UNA in 1974. |
