The University of West Alabama honored its top students for their academic achievement and leadership Wednesday, March 18, during annual Honors Day ceremony. In addition to recognizing student honorees, the university inducted two outstanding alumni into the Society of the Golden Key, the highest honor bestowed upon a UWA graduate.

Dr. Andrea Scott Mayfield of Livingston and Delise Hall Sanders of Tennessee were honored for their achievements in higher education administration and in elementary education.

Andrea Scott Mayfield graduated from the UWA (then Livingston University) in 1994, earning a bachelor of science in biology. She earned the master of arts in teaching for biological sciences two years later. After teaching biology at Alabama Southern Community College and at East Mississippi Community College for nearly a decade, Mayfield transitioned to administrative roles at EMCC, thus developing a passion for education administration, and pursuing a doctor of philosophy in community college leadership from Mississippi State University in May 2009.

Her leadership roles in e-learning, international student services, human resources, institutional research and effectiveness, academics, and technical and vocational instruction have paved the career path for Mayfield, who now serves as president of Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa.

Serving on several boards of directors and professional committees, Mayfield combines community and workforce development with education to further the mission of community colleges to be a driving force for economic growth. While in Mississippi, Mayfield worked closely with the state’s workforce partners and local and state organizations to align instructional program curricula with industry workforce needs, believing that this is the key to establishing a well-educated and highly-skilled, customized workforce.

She has served multiple Mississippi professional academic organizations, including the Mississippi Council for Institutional Research, Mississippi Association for Institutional Research, Mississippi Chief Academic Officer Association, and the Mississippi Distance Learning Coordinator Association. She also serves on the board of directors of the Tuscaloosa Chamber of Commerce, the National Junior College Athletic Association Strategic Planning Committee, West Alabama Works steering committee, and on the board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Mayfield has received several prestigious awards and honors for her dedicated service. She is a two-time presidential scholarship recipient for the Education Policy Fellowship Program, through which she participated in online professional development for institutional researchers. She is also a scholarship recipient of the Mississippi Community College Leadership Academy, which prepares participants to be dynamic, visionary leaders for all levels of higher education, particularly presidency. From UWA, Mayfield received an Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in October 2011.

Mayfield and husband, George, live in Livingston.

Delise Hall Sanders is a three-time graduate of the University of West Alabama (then Livingston University). In 1974, she received a bachelor of science in elementary and early childhood education, followed by a 1976 master of education in elementary education, and a 1981 education specialist degree in elementary education. She retired in 2014 after teaching in the Sumner County School System of Tennessee for 18 years. Her 40-year teaching career began in Grove Hill, Ala., and includes tenures in Texas at Garland, Lumberton, and Sour Lake, and in Pottstown, Penn.

Sanders’ contributions to the field of elementary education reach far beyond the classroom. She has served in several leadership positions of both the North Central Reading Association and the Tennessee Reading Association. She is a member of the International Reading Association, the Tennessee Writing Project, Tennessee Geography Alliance, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and a past advisory member of the National Council for the Social Studies. Sanders is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa professional sorority, for which se has served as corresponding secretary and chaplain. She is also a member of Phil Kappa Phi honor fraternity.

For her outstanding contributions to education, Sanders has been awarded by several of the professional organizations of which she is a member. She received the literacy award from the Tennessee Reading Association, Tennessee’s Sumner County School System named her middle school Teacher of the Year in 2012, and she has also been named a social studies teacher of the year.

She received the high honor of serving as the Tennessee representative for Teacher Consultant Training and served as the state’s representative to National Geographic’s teacher training program in Washington, D.C.

Sanders and her husband, Richard, live in Hendersonville, Tenn. She is active in her church and has volunteered for many years in the Nashville region through service at soup kitchens, the quarterback club, Sunday school, Relay for Life, Girl Scouts of America, and a host of other organizations.