University of North Alabama Foundation

University of North Alabama Foundation

The University of North Alabama Foundation was chartered in 1980 as a self-financed 501(c)(3) corporation to acquire and steward private gifts for the university. Executive Director Kevin R. Haslam, who also serves as the university's VP for University Advancement, leads the foundation alongside Chair Juan Santiago. The underlying capital comes entirely from charitable contributions and bequests from alumni and regional supporters. The investment pool, estimated at roughly $53 million by Altss, spans marketable mutual funds, certificates of deposit, and a general investment pool managed in-house. The foundation's footprint extends beyond conventional securities: it holds discrete real assets including Rogers Hall at 500 N Court Street, the Keystone Building on South Seminary Street, and the Muse Estate, a land portfolio spanning parcels in Alabama and Tennessee. Its approach blends endowment-style liquidity management with direct asset-level control. The foundation operates as a discretely presented component unit of the university, and its board includes regional business leaders such as Macke Mauldin, president of Bank Independent, and Anne Whitaker, CEO of Aerami Therapeutics. The foundation also hosts agency funds for affiliated entities, including the North Alabama Lions Athletic Club. In a typical year, earnings support presidential scholarships, faculty development grants, and named endowments like the Bank Independent Leadership Endowment. Structurally, the foundation separates the university's donor-receiving function from its operating budget, preserving gift principal while distributing earnings. The combination of campus-core commercial real estate — Rogers Hall serves dual duty as a foundation headquarters and university administration building — with a securities portfolio gives it a hybrid stewardship profile uncommon among smaller public-university endowments.