By DAVE DOMESCIK | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Dr. Courtney Bentley, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Montevallo, provided Shelby County residents an update on developments at the school at a Shelby County Chamber luncheon on Wednesday, March 19.

Kevin Morris, the chair of the Shelby County Chamber, introduced the university and Bentley in his opening remarks.

“Today, we want to celebrate (the University of Montevallo),” Morris said. “They are an asset that sometimes goes unnoticed within our county.”

Bentley began her remarks by emphasizing the uniqueness of UM and what it offers.

“I’m delighted to represent the University of Montevallo here today,” Bentley said. “We are truly a special place. We are Alabama’s public liberal arts university, and just to contextualize that for you, when we talk about a liberal arts education, we’re talking about a broad range of courses rooted in Western traditions.”

She then dove into the demographics behind the school, beginning with the student body at UM.

“We serve about 2,900 students, and that includes dual enrollment,” Bentley said. “Approximately half of our undergraduate students live on campus, 60 percent are female, 40 percent are male. We have about 500 employees, an $85 million annual budget, 90 percent of our students are from Alabama and approximately 85 percent are within a 100 mile radius of our campus.”

Bentley added that most students who attend UM stick around in Alabama after graduation.

“Most of our students are coming from Central Alabama,” Bentley said. “They’re coming to be prepared to go back out into industries in Shelby County and they do remain in Shelby County or the surrounding communities. (Around) 84 percent of our students stay in Alabama. We see this as part of our mission as a public institution and being good stewards of public funds, to prepare those individuals to go back into the workforce and positively contribute to their communities in Alabama.”

Bentley then touched on some of the challenges the university is currently facing.

“We’ve been talking about the 2026 enrollment cliff,” Bentley said. “(We will have) 1.5 to 2 million fewer college-age citizens in the U.S. by 2026 and that correlates with the recession of 2008. (There are) perceptions related to the value of college degrees… we want people to understand the value in a four-year degree, especially if your intended career requires that degree or that credential.”

Bentley also added that rising costs and inflation have affected how UM operates.

“We just announced a small tuition increase,” Bentley said. “It was the first time we’d done that in seven years. (It is) a 3.5 percent modest tuition increase. We have seen escalating costs in all of our consumable resources… we have a lot of bills to pay, and so that is certainly a challenge for us trying to keep up and generate the revenue we need to provide those premier academic programs.”

Demographic trends in the state and region have also been areas of focus for Bentley and the Montevallo staff.

“(Around) 97 percent of UM students (have been) awarded grants or scholarship aid,” Bentley said. “We have a lot of first-generation students who are coming from lower-income homes in rural communities, and they are experiencing financial exigency. It’s difficult for them to understand how they can fund that four-year degree. So, we work very hard through our foundation and through other community partners to ensure that we have scholarship opportunities to support our students.”

After discussing the various majors and programs that UM possesses, Bentley cited data showing that Montevallo offers prospective students a depth and breadth of paths to choose from.

“We’re currently offering 11 of the top majors that students (across the country) are looking for and populating those programs fairly well,” Bentley said.

Bentley took the time to explain some of the traits that make up Montevallo’s student body and how they appeal to potential employers.

“Our students know how to work in teams,” Bentley said. “They have critical thinking. They can analyze and interpret data. They should be able to do that day one when they come into your businesses.”

The athletic opportunities, according to Bentley, are also prolific at UM.

“We are a D-II (school) with 23 teams,” Bentley said. “Recently, we added men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s wrestling and acrobatics/tumbling. The average GPA for our student-athletes is 3.34, so they really are scholar athletes.”

Bentley closed by encouraging those at the luncheon to further invest in the University of Montevallo.

“If you haven’t been to the University of Montevallo, I encourage you to come visit,” Bentley said. “It is a beautiful campus. We’re very proud of what we have there… we’ve made a lot of capital improvements and we’re proud to serve the community and to be part of Shelby County and to be your four-year university.”

For more information on the University of Montevallo, visit Montevallo.edu.