FLORENCE – Dr. Ross Alexander, provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs and his wife, Lilia; and Dr. Chunsheng Zhang, senior vice provost for International Affairs, and his wife, Dr. Guihua Li, have gifted the University of North Alabama with international student endowments.
According to the UNA Department of Admissions, international students make up 3.6% of the student body and 270 are currently enrolled. At least 34 countries have been represented with the largest number of students being from China, Saudi Arabia and India.
The Alexanders’ gift is a bit of paying it forward since Lilia was an international student from Bulgaria. Lilia often had to make the same sometimes difficult decisions as other international students. One of those was whether to stay on campus and continue her studies or give up her chance at an excellent academic opportunity and return to her home country.
“Lilia and I are pleased to support our fine and deserving international students with this fund,” said 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.
“As an international student herself, Lilia endured a serious personal hardship during the course of her studies. A fund such as this one would have assisted her tremendously.”
Zhang said he and his wife’s endowment will support the Office of International Affairs and will help international students fulfill their dreams of earning a degree and finding success.
“Guihua and I feel very fortunate to work for such a great university,” 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.”
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to our email newsletter to have all our smart stories delivered to your inbox.
