MOBILE, Ala. - Three members of the University of Mobile Athletic Department will represent the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) this year for national honors in the NAIA following the conference's year-end awards banquet in June. University of Mobile Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) Dr. Kathy Dunning has been nominated for the Wally Schwartz Award in the NAIA, while two student-athletes from the University of Mobile Volleyball and Women's Basketball programs are up for prestigious scholarship honors ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Nominations were officially sent in to the national office on Monday afternoon, July 15. All awards and scholarships will be announced by the NAIA on the NAIA National Awards Day on Sept. 15, 2024.
Dr. Kathy Dunning - Wally Schwartz Award
The Wally Schwartz Award is an illustrious award in the NAIA, initiated in honor of past NAIA Vice President of Legislative Services and NAIA Hall of Famer Wally Schwartz. It recognizes a Faculty Athletics Representative who exemplifies the loyalty, enthusiasm, and honesty Schwartz showed on behalf of the NAIA. Dr. Kathy Dunning, who enters her 15th season as FAR ahead of the 2024-25 academic year, was named the Dr. Ron Melton FAR of the Year in the SSAC for the second time in four years this past June.
In her role at the University of Mobile, Dunning verifies student-athlete eligibility and serves as a liaison between faculty and the athletic department. Additionally, Dunning is the Dean of the School of Business, Associate Professor of Accounting, and Chair of the Department of Accounting.
Lexi Gillette - A.O. Duer Scholarship Award
Lexi Gillette, who enters her junior season this upcoming August, is up for the A.O. Duer Scholarship in the NAIA. The award is named in honor of the NAIA's former executive secretary who served the association for 26 years and has been annually presented since 1967 to a male and female junior student-athlete in any sport who has excelled in scholarship, character, and citizenship.
While maintaining a 4.0 GPA in the classroom during her young collegiate career, Gillette has been the starting libero for the University of Mobile Indoor Volleyball program over the last two seasons, holding the record for most defensive digs recorded in a single match. Gillette was named to the SSAC Volleyball All-Freshman Team following her freshman season and was named to the SSAC Volleyball Second-Team All-Conference Team this past season.
MacKenzie White - Emil S. Liston Scholarship Award
The Emil S. Liston Scholarship recognizes both academic and athletic excellence by junior student-athletes in men's and women's basketball. The scholarship is named in honor of the NAIA's first executive secretary who was also a prime mover behind the men's basketball tournament. This award has been presented annually since 1950 to one junior men's and one junior women's basketball student-athlete.
MacKenzie White of the University of Mobile Women's Basketball program was named the SSAC Women's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year following her junior season this past year, which saw the Rams qualify for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament for the first time in over five years. White has maintained a near 4.0 GPA in the classroom and looks to make it back-to-back years that the University of Mobile has seen the Emil S. Liston Scholarship presented to a student-athlete from the UM Basketball program (Ezra McKenna - M BKB '23).
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About the University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is a Christ-centered liberal arts and sciences institution with a vision of higher education for a higher purpose, founded to honor God by equipping students for their future professions through rigorous academic preparation and spiritual transformation. Core values are: Christ-Centered, Academically-Focused, Student-Devoted and Distinctively-Driven. The university offers on-campus and online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in over 75 academic programs. Founded in 1961, the University of Mobile is affiliated with the Alabama Baptist State Convention and is located 10 miles north of Mobile, Alabama on a campus of over 880 acres.
For information about the University of Mobile, areas of study, admissions and more, visit umobile.edu, connect with UM on social media @univofmobile, or call Enrollment Services at 1.800.WIN.RAMS or 251.442.2222.
