UNA College of Business now Sanders College of Business

FLORENCE — The College of Business and Technology at the University of North Alabama is now the Sanders College of Business and Technology, thanks to a $3.5 million gift from the Horace and Mary Jane Sanders family.

“Generous gifts such as this from the Sanders Family are meaningful on a campus of UNA’s size simply because they make a significant impact for generations of students and faculty to come,” said UNA President Dr. Ken Kitts. “We celebrate this new relationship with the Sanders family and welcome the opportunity to officially name the Sanders College of Business and Technology.”

Horace Sanders and his wife, Mary Jane, owned and operated Russellville Hospital from the late 1960s until 1973, when they sold the facility to Humana Hospital. The couple remained in Russellville for another decade. Generosity and giving have been a lifelong calling for the Sanders family throughout their lives, according to their youngest son, Bill Sanders.

“This gift is an opportunity to give back to the community from where it all came from,” he said. “The majority of the gifts my parents have made have been with Christian missions, but this was meeting a need in the Northwest Alabama area that has been very special to them.”

As executor of his father’s estate, Bill Sanders said a gift like this had been in the works for more than four decades, noting that UNA’s College of Business and Technology and its MBA program are aligned with Horace Sanders’ vocations of business and accounting.

“The College has the largest MBA program in the state, and when we learned of the years of funding issues that had plagued UNA, it made our gift even more significant,” Sanders said, referring to Project 208, the initiative established by Kitts in 2017 to create a more equitable funding model for institutes of higher education in Alabama. “There is a lot of merit to a more level playing field for funding, and it is something we as a state should consider doing.”

The Sanders College of Business and Technology continues to innovate and engage students through workforce-focused programs.

“The Sanders College of Business and Technology is an innovative and evolving College at UNA,” said Dr. Ross Alexander, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. “From the Master’s of Health Administration to the Bachelor’s of Business Administration, the College offers students a variety of programs to prepare them for the workforce.

“This tremendous gift from the Sanders Family ensures we can continue to provide high-quality academic programming for generations.”

With UNA home to the state’s largest MBA program having more than 1,000 students enrolled, Dean of the Sanders College of Business and Technology Dr. Greg Carnes said he is overwhelmed by the gift and the generosity of the Sanders Family.

“Our mission in the College is to prepare students to be excellent professionals and citizens,” he said. “This gift will provide the margin of excellence that is needed to ensure that we have the resources to meet this mission. Excellent education transforms lives, and the Sanders Family has invested in the lives of our business and technology students for the current and future generations.

“Gifts of this nature validate the excellent work of the faculty, staff, and students in the College, made possible by the tremendous support of the UNA administration and Board of Trustees.”