UNA, Listerhill to open financial center
Jul 8, 2010 
Times Daily | By Michelle Rupe Eubanks
Bryan Hall will graduate from the University of North Alabama next spring with more than $20,000 in student loan debt.
“I’m going to need to know how to budget my money when I go out into the real world, especially when it comes time for me to buy my first house,” he said. “How am I supposed to save money now, when I don’t have anything to save?”
Hall said he plans to be among those who take advantage of the help offered by the Center for Financial Literacy that will open this fall on the UNA campus thanks to a partnership between the university and Listerhill Credit Union.
The student-operated center, which will be the first of its kind in the region, was designed with student financial needs in mind, said UNA alum and Listerhill President Brad Green.
“It will be a fun and innovative branch destination that will employ and be operated primarily by students of the university,” he said. “This is definitely a concept that is unique to this partnership between UNA and Listerhill.”
The service also will provide a student-operated credit union, which will be called The Hill.
Green said it will be a casual environment that will allow students to do some self-service banking or take advantage of the students and director on hand to answer questions about banking or personal finance. The director also will be employed as an adjunct faculty member in the College of Business, he said.
UNA President Bill Cale said today’s tough economy emphasizes the need for a sound financial background.
“The average financial obligations of a student graduating from UNA are around $20,000, which is close to the national average of $23,000,” he said. “We understand the financial situation students find themselves in. We’re all coping with the reality of being able to pay for a college education, which we all agree is important.”
In the short term, the center as well as The Hill will be in the Guillot University Center. Ultimately, however, the two will move to a new Academic Center and Student Commons. Listerhill on Wednesday contributed $625,000 toward constructing the new facility. Plans for the building have not been finalized.
“We’re contemplating enlisting the help of the students in planning what the new center will look like in the building because we do want it to meet their needs and continue to be interactive,” Green said.
