UNA Pressroom

Una Public Relations Student Earns Professional Accreditation

Apr. 30, 2018



Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@domains2book.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

FLORENCE, Ala.- Madeline "Madi" Winkler, a Senior Mass Communication major studying Public Relations, has become the University of North Alabama's first student to earn the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations. The Certificate is granted through the Universal Accreditation Board. Winkler, who is from Ardmore, Alabama, completed a six-week preparatory course and then passed a two-hour computer-based exam to earn certification. The Certificate program offers graduating seniors and recent graduates an opportunity to earn an additional professional credential beyond their undergraduate degree. It is also a precursor to the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) exam practitioners take to become accredited. The University of North Alabama won approval to offer training for the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations last November. The spring 2018 semester marked the first time the Department of Communications offered the preparatory course to its students. Ms. Lisa Darnell, APR, served as its instructor. Winkler, who is scheduled to graduate from the University of North Alabama in May, has already accepted an offer of full-time employment in Huntsville, Alabama. -- 30 - UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programsthrough the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business,Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing.Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Tuscumbia, Sheffield and Muscle Shoals. UNA Athletics, a renownedcollegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN and Big South Conferences.The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age or national origin.http://mqa.domains2book.com/