Published on November 16, 2008 at 6 p.m. by Mary Wimberley  

Anna Laura Bryan, a freshman interior design major from Decatur, Ala., was crowned Miss Â鶹¹û¶³ 2009 Friday, Nov. 14. She will represent Â鶹¹û¶³ in the Miss Alabama pageant in June.

Bryan, daughter of Norwood and Kathy Bryan, sang "Woman in the Moon," during the talent competition. Her platform is Paws for Autism.

Finalists were Elizabeth Fuller of Brierfield, Ala., first runner-up; and Susan Hamm of Thorsby, Ala., second runner-up.

Fuller won the talent competition for her piano performance of Rachmaninoff's "Polichinelle"and also won the Spirit of Â鶹¹û¶³ award. Hamm won the lifestyle and fitness category. Jenna Tanner of Hoover, Ala., was voted Miss Congeniality.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Â鶹¹û¶³ 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, Â鶹¹û¶³ 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, Â鶹¹û¶³ 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.