Two Mobile-area university administrators received recognition from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges during the accrediting body’s annual meeting in Nashville.
David Johnson, the University of South Alabama’s first provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, was selected to serve on the commission’s board of trustees. The commission is the accrediting body overseeing higher education institutions across an 11-state region that includes Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Johnson will be one of eight trustees representing Alabama on the commission’s 77-member board, which sets direction for the organization and oversees the accreditation process for member schools. In a statement, Johnson called the appointment both an honor and a significant responsibility, noting the commission’s role in ensuring accredited colleges and universities meet established standards of quality and integrity.
Separately, Steve Lee, vice president for business affairs and chief financial officer at the University of Mobile, received the commission’s Meritorious Service Award at the same conference. Lee was recognized for his extensive service to the accrediting body, including participation in 19 committee site visits along with work on the commission’s Accreditation Process Project and its Finance Subcommittee.
Lee, a certified public accountant, has held his position at the University of Mobile since 1995. Before joining the university, he worked as an audit manager at a Mobile-area accounting firm from 1988 to 1995 and earlier ran a moving and storage company from 1974 to 1986. In recent years, Lee has overseen a $7 million campus enhancement project at the University of Mobile.
University of Mobile President Mark Foley praised the recognition, calling it among the highest honors the accrediting commission bestows and noting it was well-deserved given Lee’s long record of service to the organization.
The dual recognition highlights the roles both South Alabama universities play within the broader regional higher education accreditation system, with administrators from both schools taking on leadership responsibilities that extend well beyond their own campuses. The commission’s work affects thousands of students across the Southeast by certifying that member institutions meet consistent academic and financial standards.