Published on December 29, 1999 at 6 p.m. by Mary Wimberley  

Three Birmingham residents and a Floridian have been named to the Board of Overseers at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. 

They are: Brenda Mitchell Hackney of Birmingham, Edward L. Robinson of Birmingham, Jacquelyn S. Shaia of Birmingham and Chris A. Verlander of Jacksonville, Fla. 

Hackney, who holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from Samford, is president of the Hackney Foundation. 

Robinson, a Samford graduate who holds Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees in physics from Purdue Â鶹ÊÓƵ, is retired professor of physics at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Shaia, a graduate of UAB and Cumberland School of Law, is senior vice president, Alabama Power Company, and president Alabama Power Foundation. 

Verlander, a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ of Florida, is senior vice president, Associated Industries of Florida. 

The 43-member Board of Overseers was inaugurated in 1998 to provide advice and counsel to the Samford president and Board of Trustees. It includes distinguished leaders from around the nation whose perspectives offer a broad representation of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ's constituency. 

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 35 Most Beautiful College Campuses, Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and boasts one of the highest scores in the nation for its 97% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.