The University of Mobile (UM) board of trustees approved naming its $3.3 million residence hall now under construction “Samford Hall” in honor of Opelika attorney Yetta G. Samford Jr. and his wife, Mary.
The 101-bed facility will be completed this summer.
Samford is a member of the founding board of trustees for the private Southern Baptist-affiliated university, has served as chairman of the UM board of trustees, was named life trustee in 1992 and was awarded the honorary doctor of humane letters in 2001.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to honor Yetta and Mary Samford,” said UM President Mark Foley. “Yetta and Mary have been a part of this university from its birth.
“They have helped nurture this school from the time it was just a dream of Alabama Baptists who wanted a Christian college in south Alabama, to its present success as an 800-acre campus with nearly 1,900 undergraduate and graduate students,” Foley said.
Samford, an Opelika native, was a director of Torchmark Corp., West Point Pepperell Inc., and chairman of the board of directors of Farmers National Bank of Opelika.
He is a deacon and an active member of First Baptist Church, Opelika.
In other action, the board:
-Announced tuition increases for 2004-05 ranging from 3.9 percent for undergraduate to 5.2 percent for graduate — below the 6 percent national average tuition increase anticipated for 2004-05 by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
-Undergraduate tuition will increase 3.9 percent for the 2004-05 academic year, from $309 per semester hour to $321. The annual tuition cost for undergraduates carrying a 15-hour load is $9,630, a $360 increase. Graduate tuition will increase 5.2 percent from $229 per semester hour to $241 per hour. Cost for tuition, room and meals will be between $15–16,000. (UM)
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