State Senate confirms UNA alumna, former U.S. Senate Secretary Berry to UNA Trustees

FLORENCE – The Alabama Senate has confirmed Sonceria Ann Berry, a University of North Alabama alumna and former secretary of the U.S. Senate, to fill the Board of Trustees seat currently held by Dr. Wendell Gunn, who did not seek reappointment.

The confirmation was Thursday in Montgomery and Berry’s six-year term will begin in July. 

“It is very heart-warming for me to have this opportunity,” Berry said from her home in Maryland. “All my life, I have tried to do the right thing and treat people the way I want to be treated, so for them to even consider me is quite an honor.

“It really does feel like I am coming home. I am going back to my roots – back to where it all started.” 

In January, Berry was honored with a portrait in the Alabama State Archives in a ceremony in Montgomery. She was sworn in as the 34th secretary of the U.S. Senate in March 2021. Berry was the first African American to serve in this position and only the eighth woman to hold the office; she has since retired from this role. 

Berry grew up in Birmingham and received her bachelor of arts degree from UNA in 1978. She also attended and completed the Georgetown University Senior Executive Leadership Program.  

Berry said she remembers walking around UNA’s campus when she would visit her great-aunt and great-uncle who lived in Florence.

“It was always so beautiful, and my great-aunt would put the idea in my mind that I could go to school here, never thinking for one minute that I would,” Berry said. “It ended up being the only university I applied to when it was time to go to college, and this is where I wanted to be. I got in, and the rest is history.”

Her tenure on the board will begin at the September meeting. 

“It is truly an honor to welcome Mrs. Berry to the Board of Trustees, UNA’s governing body,” said UNA President Dr. Ken Kitts. “We are thrilled to have her voice, her perspective, and her insights as part of the Board and welcome her back to the campus that helped launch her career.”