University of North Alabama

in 1874, 31 young women enrolled. In 1929, it became a state teachers college offering a four-year curriculum in elementary education. In 1947, the curriculum was expanded again to include A.B. and B.S. degree programs in fields other than teacher training. In 1956, the institution formed a graduate course of study, and the following year, the Alabama Legislature voted to change the institution's name to Florence State College. In 1963, Wendell Wilkie Gunn became the first African-American student to enroll at the college, after a hearing that lasted only ten minutes.
In 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, accompanied by the establishment of separate schools within the university. Less than a decade later, on August 15, 1974, the university underwent another change of name to the University of North Alabama, symbolizing …