The University of North Alabama has announced a $3.2 million endowment gift from Charles Anderson and his family in support of scholarships for students enrolled in the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions.

Announced during a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the college in the newly opened Laura M. Harrison Hall, the gift will fund scholarships for both graduate and undergraduate students. In addition to the gift to the college, the Anderson family has provided support for the Hilda B. Anderson Softball Stadium, which is named for Charles Anderson's late wife.

"We've been considering another gift for a while," said Anderson. "We thought about the fact that [Hilda] always wanted to help everyone and wanted everybody to have an equal opportunity, and we thought maybe that means a scholarship. Today, we want to announce we are going to make a new gift to the Anderson College of Nursing in the [form] of a $3.2 million endowment to provide both graduate and undergraduate nursing scholarships."

"The Anderson family has been so very generous with the college, and we are so grateful," said Vicki Pierce, dean of the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. "Many of the opportunities we offer to students are because of them. This gift will help a number of our students achieve their goals of working in health care. Health providers are in demand now more than ever, and this will go a long way toward us in the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions helping meet those demands."