UNA Pressroom

International Students to Benefit from Endowed Gifts

May. 20, 2022



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

FLORENCE, AL – International students at the University of North Alabama will benefit from two recent endowed gifts given by Dr. Ross Alexander, the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, and his wife, Lilia, as well as from Senior Vice Provost for International Affairs Dr. Chunsheng Zhang and his wife Dr. Guihua Li. 

“Lilia and I are pleased to support our fine and deserving international students with this fund,” said Dr. Alexander. We want to be sure that they are supported during their studies at UNA so that they can concentrate on their studies and degree completion.” 

The Alexanders’ gift is personal in nature as Lilia was an international student herself and often had to decide between staying on campus or traveling to her home country of Bulgaria.

“As an international student herself, Lilia endured a serious personal hardship during the course of her studies,” Dr. Alexander said. “A fund such as this one would have assisted her tremendously.” 

Dr. Zhang said this gift will transform the lives of international students, helping them fulfill their dreams of earning a degree and finding success. He and his wife, Dr. Li, also endowed a gift that will support the greatest needs and emerging priorities of the Office of International Affairs. 

“Guihua and I feel very fortunate to work for such a great university,” Dr. Zhang said. “We have been blessed with the opportunities to work with inspiring leaders, supportive colleagues and aspirational students at UNA. It is our hope that this endowment will enable the Office of International Affairs to do greater things in championing UNA as a leader in global learning, understanding, and peace.”

About The University of North Alabama

The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering credential, certificate, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; Business and Technology; Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. The first-choice University for more than 10,000 on-campus and online students, UNA is on a bucolic campus in Florence, Alabama, part of the historic and vibrant Shoals region. Lions 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 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: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/