UNA Founder’s Day

Celebrating More Than 196 Years of Impact

Join us for our annual celebration honoring our impact over the course of nearly two centuries.

[UNA: Add Details for 2027]

Explore UNA’s History

January 11, 1830
The University of North Alabama was founded as LaGrange College.

1850
A grammar school was added to LaGrange College. (Today, UNA’s Kilby Laboratory School is the only university-owned and operated elementary laboratory school in Alabama.)

1854
The school was re-incorporated as Florence Wesleyan University.

1872

The Methodist Church deeded Florence Wesleyan to the State of Alabama and the institution became the State Normal School at Florence, the first state-supported teachers’ college south of the Ohio River.

1874
31 women enrolled and the school became one of the first co-educational institutions in the nation.

1879
The first woman joined UNA faculty.

1929
Our institution functioned as a normal school for more than 50 years until 1929, when it became a state teachers’ college offering a four-year curriculum in elementary education.

1957
The Alabama Legislature voted to change the institution’s name to Florence State College to reflect its expanding academic mission.

1963
Wendell Wilkie Gunn became the first African-American student to enroll at the college.

1967
The Alabama Legislature removed jurisdiction for the college from the State Board of Education and vested it in a Board of Trustees. A year later, the new board voted for another name change to Florence State University, once again symbolizing the steady expansion of the institution’s academic offerings and mission.

1974
The university underwent another name change to the University of North Alabama, symbolizing its coming of age as a comprehensive, regional university.

[UNA: add other significant dates beyond 1974]