Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Louise Hall Beard ’71

Soon after graduating from BSC with a Bachelor of Church Music in Organ, Louise Hall Beard started taking tap dancing from Dale Serrano Dance Studios. In 1979, she opened Time Step Studio and started teaching tap dancing to others. Each year, her students performed a recital at Alabama Theatre to packed houses. After closing the studio, Beard pursued her interest in producing, launching SwineSTARS Productions. In 2011, Beard produced an updated version of the classic holiday movie “A Christmas Story,” which opened on Broadway and earned a Tony nomination for Best Musical. In 2013, Beard produced “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder” which received ten 2014 Tony Award nominations, winning four – Best Musical, Direction of a Musical, Book of a Musical, and Best Costume Design. In 2015, Beard hosted a group of BSC students for a pre-show dinner and Q&A about the Tony-winning production. Beard is board co-chair and founder of The Del Shores Foundation, an organization dedicated to finding and facilitating the development of new southern queer artistic voices. She and her husband, John Beard, live in Birmingham.

Jennifer Hatchett ’95

An English major, Jennifer Hatchett was a member of Sigma Tau Alpha English Honorary and photographer for the Southern Accent yearbook. In her career, she has served as director of marketing for Junior Achievement and associate director public relations for the Birmingham Museum of Art. Hatchett is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and a member of the Board of Directors of Avondale Samaritan Place. She was part of Leadership Birmingham Class of 2017. Hatchett is now the executive director of YouthServe, Inc. She is pursuing her M.B.A. from University of North Alabama. She lives in Birmingham with her husband, Johnny Scott, and their children Savannah (Savvy) and Sid.

The Hon. Robert H. Smith ’66

Born in Mobile in 1944 to Malcom Glen Smith and Marie Thompson Smith, Robert H. Smith ’66 graduated from Murphy High School in 1962. As a student at BSC, he was president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and president of the Interfraternity Council, a member of the Student Government Association, chairman of the Honor Council, and a member of Southern Singers. After graduating with a degree in Economics and Business Administration, he earned his J.D. at the University of Alabama School of Law, where he was a member of the editorial and managing boards of Alabama Law Review. Smith was a partner at Galloway, Smith, Wettermark, and Everest in Mobile, then was appointed and elected to the Alabama 13th Judicial Circuit in 2006, serving until 2019. He was the recipient of the Pioneer Award of the Alabama Association for Children with Learning Disabilities and was named Alabama Trial Judge of the Year 2017 by the American Board of Trial Advocates. He is a board member of Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, Child Advocacy Center, and L’Arche of Mobile. He and his wife, Anne Sisson Smith ’67, live in Mobile. They have three daughters, Margaret Anne Smith, Katherine Smith Nichols (Claude), and Claire Smith Taylor (Mikell), and two grandchildren, William and Annie Taylor.

OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI

Dr. Susan Chesley Fant ’09

Dr. Susan Chesley Fant is the co-founder of eMarketing Director, an online learning and development company that specializes in helping small business owners and entrepreneurs use time and resources wisely when facing changes and challenges with technology. Fant is an affiliated researcher for the University of Minnesota’s The Mono Project and its development of one of the world’s first vaccines for the EpsteinBarr virus. Previously, she was a senior instructor of marketing at the University of Alabama, where she developed the Master of Science in Marketing program’s Digital and Social Media Specialization, one of the first of its kind in the nation. Fant holds a Master of Science in Managing in the Creative Industries from the University of St. Andrews and a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California. She completed further executive training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University in entrepreneurship and leadership topics. In the upcoming year, Fant will move to Birmingham with her soon-to-be husband Jared Cassity and their mini goldendoodle, Penny.

Jennifer Commander ’12

Jennifer Lee Commander graduated from BSC in 2012 Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in English and Spanish and a distinction in Leadership Studies. She was a two-time captain of the women’s golf team, a three-time NCGA Academic AllAmerican, and a member of the Capital One Academic All-District Team. She received the Johnny Johnson Most Inspirational Senior Athlete Award. She was a member of the Alpha Upsilon chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority, serving as vice president of standards and vice president of member education. She completed a Hess Fellowship at the William J. Clinton Foundation in New York. Commander worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer in the Auburn University Office of Public Service, where she expanded its Campus Kitchens Project to serve more than 600 meals per week and implemented a “Blessings in a Backpack” program in conjunction with the Jason Dufner Charitable Foundation. Commander attended Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Va., where she graduated magna cum laude and in the top 10 percent of her class. She was editor in chief of the Washington and Lee Law Review. Commander began her legal career in the Corporate and Securities practice group at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, a national, full-service law firm in Birmingham. She now works at Vulcan Materials Company, providing legal counsel to the Southern and Gulf Coast Divisions and assisting with governance matters. Commander is married to Keith Gray ’10. They live in Birmingham with their son Avi Virat “V” Gray and their dog, Sassafras.

RISING STAR AWARD

Denzel Okinedo ’16

Denzel Okinedo graduated with a degree in Political Science and minors in Religion and Human Rights and Conflict Studies. He served as Student Government Association President, a Hess Fellow, and a student-athlete. In 2019, Okinedo earned his J.D. from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, where he was president of the Student Bar Association; a member of the Black Law Students Association Board; and a member of the National Trial Team. Okinedo is an associate attorney with Burr Forman, LLP. The Birmingham Business Journal named him a 2022 NextGen: Top Law Award Recipient. He was named a 2021 Rising Star in Business Litigation by Mid-South Super Lawyers. He is a member of the BSC Board of Trustees and president of the BSC Young Alumni Council. Okinedo is also a member of The Randolph School board, the Rotaract Club of Birmingham and the Phoenix Club of Birmingham. He serves as vice president of the Birmingham Bar Association’s Social-Young Lawyers Section and was a member of the BBA’s Class of 2021 Future Leaders Forum.

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Bernard Lockhart ’83 MMPM ’08 *

Bernard Lockhart founded Magic City Smooth Jazz, a nonprofit dedicated to exposing residents to great jazz, and launched its Jazz in the Park series in 2010 with five concerts around the city. He and wife, Jacqueline Lockhart, applied for grants and wrote letters seeking support from local and national arts foundations. The series also presented jazz concerts at parks in other Alabama cities, including Bessemer, Helena, Huntsville, and Tuscaloosa. Lockhart’s career also included stints in event planner at Southern Progress, as director and event organizer for Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham, and as event manager at Trussville Civic Center. Lockhart died in December 2020 at UAB Hospital from complications related to COVID-19.  He is survived by his wife, his daughters, Bernadette and Rachel, and his son, John. 

Dr. James Donald Patrick ’57 *

A man with multiple groundbreaking roles, Dr. James Donald Patrick was the first person in the state of Alabama to receive a Ph.D. in Vocational Rehabilitation and the first Vocational Rehab Counselor at the newly created Spain Rehabilitation Center at UAB. From there, he went on to help found Lakeshore Rehab Center and Foundation, which is well-known in the community as a highly successful rehabilitation facility. Patrick was an active member of Canterbury United Methodist Church for 45 years. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Margaret Hines Patrick; daughter Adelia Patrick Thompson and her husband J. Lynn Thompson; son Bentley Hines Patrick and his wife Melissa Self Patrick and their daughters Mary Rose Patrick and Sarah Elizabeth Patrick; his brother Billy Wayne Patrick and wife Sarah Goodlett Patrick and their children Bryan Patrick and Amanda Patrick Booher.

Pamela Payton-Wright ‘63 *

Pamela Payton-Wright graduated from Birmingham-Southern College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she received the Special Medal and the Edmund Gray Prize for High Comedy. She was crowned Miss Tuscaloosa in 1961 and was a finalist in the Miss Alabama contest. She began her television career in 1972 as Rhonda on “Corky.” In 1979, she joined the cast of “Another World” as Hazel Parker. Payton-Wright appeared in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. She won a Drama Desk Award for her performance as Lavinia Mannon in the 1972 Broadway revival of “Mourning Becomes Electra.” Her television credits included PBS productions of “The Prodigal,” “Brother to Dragons,” and “The Adams Chronicles.” She earned an Emmy nomination for her work in “The Adams Chronicles.” In 1991, Payton-Wright joined the cast of the ABC soap opera “One Life to Live” in the recurring role of sweet natured Agatha "Addie" Cramer. She died on December 14, 2019. Payton-Wright is survived by her son Oliver Dickon Hedley Butler and his wife Cynthia Flowers, brother Gordon Trafford Payton Wright, and sisters Brenda Payton-Wright Davies and Barbara Payton-Wright Quackenbush ’65.

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Michael Callahan ’67

Before coming to BSC at 16, Dr. Michael Callahan ’67, along with his five siblings, was influenced by his father to pursue science and art. “Our father was a physician and exposed us to the medical field by showing movies of his operations at home on weekends. On Sunday afternoons, these movies were often followed by photographic slide lectures series he obtained from museums, like ‘Great Masterpieces of the Louvre.’”

Callahan’s passions flourished on the Hilltop, where small classes and relationships with professors felt just like home.

“At BSC, I was able to grow as an individual in many ways by participating in an inspiring community and having a deep and memorable relationship with professors who became my mentors.”

Callahan is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Alabama and president of the International Retinal Research Foundation. He has provided care to patients in underprivileged areas in the U.S. and worldwide.

Callahan and his siblings – now physicians, businessmen, lawyers, and actors – have established the Eivor and Alston Callahan Scholarship, which benefits a BSC pre-med or performing arts student. Callahan recognizes the benefit of BSC’s liberal arts mindset in allowing students to explore seemingly contrasting interests in finding their calling.

“Personally, I developed a passion for ocular plastic surgery: a perfect melding of medicine and art. This would not have happened without my exposure to the arts at BSC.”

Lawrence B. Durham, Ph.D. '63

Reflecting on a career that had traversed industry, military, and higher education, Lawrence Durham attributed much of his professional versatility to academic and organizational experiences at Birmingham-Southern, where he served as SGA president, joined Sigma Alpha Epsilon and the Concert Choir, was selected as Mr. Hilltopper, and achieved ODK and Phi Beta Kappa membership. Most importantly, he married Anne Stimson '65 

Larry’s professional career began as a process control engineer at Monsanto. During the Vietnam war, he joined the Navy and served as a Lieutenant and mathematics division director at the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School. After being honorably discharged in 1970, Dr. Durham served 14 years in various administrative and teaching roles at the University of Delaware, Birmingham-Southern College, and The University of Alabama. While serving as UA’s Dean of Admissions, he received the 1979 Distinctive Image Award from the Crimson Girls-Capstone Men service organization.

In 1984, Dr. Durham joined the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations to pioneer the accreditation of training programs at nuclear power plants. In 1989, he was named corporate manager of nuclear training at TVA. After founding a consulting firm in 1997, he served as executive coach and training vice president of Ontario Power Generation in Toronto and, later, as safety, training, and knowledge management consultant for the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. In 2004, Larry received the American Nuclear Society’s Training Excellence Award. The IAEA and its Director General were awarded the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize and, as an IAEA team member, Dr. Durham received a Nobel Recognition Certificate for his contribution to that U.N. agency’s work.

Throughout his diverse career, Larry facilitated individual learning and organizational improvement. Essentially a knowledge engineer, his principal achievement was contributing to preservation of the nuclear energy option towards achieving a safer and healthier global climate.

Dr. Tondra Loder-Jackson '89

Although choosing BSC meant staying close to her Birmingham family, Dr. Tondra Loder-Jackson ’89 wanted to find a home on the Hilltop. Through the Black Student Union (BSU) and her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, she was able to do just that.

“One of my proudest moments was joining ranks with the BSU to advocate for racial diversity in the SGA. Our advocacy resulted in two BSU representatives being named to the SGA. Being part of the Panhellenic Council enlightened me to racial and cultural tensions in campus Greek life.”

Advocating for on-campus equal representation was just the beginning. Loder-Jackson is now a professor in UAB’s Educational Foundations and African American Studies programs and the co-founder and former director of the UAB Center for Urban Education. She has published extensively on Birmingham’s civil rights and educational history, African American education, and urban education. Published in 2015, her most notable work, “Schoolhouse Activists: African American Education and the Long Birmingham Civil Rights Movement,” explores the power that educators in the 1960s and today have as activists in a system that grapples for educational justice. She calls BSC’s 2019 establishment of a Distinction in Black Studies program “a watershed moment in the history of BSC” that she hopes will evolve into a major and its own department of multicultural studies.

“Every BSC student should know the pantheon of BSC civil rights trailblazers: former President Henry King Stanford, Marti Turnipseed, Skip Bennett, and, more recently, Bernard Mays, Jr. As students learn this history, they can determine where they fit within BSC’s trajectory of making a difference in Birmingham and beyond.”

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Dr. Casey Daniel ’07

BSC has long been an integral part of her family history, beginning with her parents’ marriage at Yeilding Chapel in 1977. In 2001, as a rising high school senior, Daniel was attending the Summer Scholars program at BSC when she was diagnosed with cancer.

“That program was an amazing experience for me. Since I was still undergoing treatment and monitoring when I graduated high school, BSC was a perfect opportunity for my next step. I knew I loved it, and I could still be close to home and my medical team.”

Daniel credits Professor Jeanette Runquist with introducing her to public health as an English major with a lifelong interest in the medical field. While receiving her master’s and doctoral degrees at UAB, she discovered an unlimited potential to impact the health and lives of people, including cancer survivors, globally.

After completing postdoctoral training in cancer prevention and control at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Daniel was recruited to work at the University of South Alabama (USA) in Mobile. At USA, she is now the Director of Epidemiology and Public Health, as well as an Assistant Professor of Oncologic Sciences at the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute and faculty member in the USA College of Medicine’s Department of Family Medicine.

The outbreak of COVID-19 put Daniel’s expertise in high demand. From helping to develop contact tracing and campus return protocols, to designing a COVID screening tool for those returning to campus and tracking and reporting weekly statistics, Daniel has been an invaluable asset to her campus community.

Bernard Mays, Jr. ’04

In his senior year at BSC, Bernard Mays, Jr. ’04 made a decision that would leave a legacy on the Hilltop: he ran for SGA President. “It was and is one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I was unsure about running at first. I was thinking, ‘Why would you do this?’ But I had enough cheerleaders saying, ‘Why not?’”

Mays’ successful election made him BSC’s first Black SGA President, a victory that impacted the trajectory of his life. After earning his master’s degree in accounting from the University of Virginia in 2005 and becoming a CPA in 2006, Mays went on to become a community leader with an impressive career of administering executive financial operations across the natural gas, coal, and retail industries. He now works at UAB as assistant vice president and controller.

Mays is encouraged by the strides BSC has made toward diversity and inclusion since his graduation, including expanding the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Office of Student Diversity and Inclusion and establishing a Diversity Enrichment Team. Mays is especially pleased to see student-led initiatives from organizations like the Black Student Union, Black Men’s and Women’s Union, and Cross Cultural Committee.

“My hope for this generation of minority students is that they will be bold in their ambition, confident in their worth, and tenacious in all things.” Addressing current minority students at BSC, he says, “My hope is that you have a legacy mindset. A legacy mindset will impact the stewardship of your gifts and talents, the consistency of your character, and the lasting mark of your contributions to your community.”

Rising Star Recipient

Hannah Byrne ’16

Hannah Byrne ’16 begins each workday at one of the most prestigious institutions in the country, with coffee and a call with her advisor, the Smithsonian historian. Shortly after receiving her master’s in public history from American University, Byrne joined the Smithsonian Institution Archives as a program assistant.

In her role, Byrne responds to reference requests, processes interviews for the oral history collection, and conducts original research on the history of the Smithsonian Institution. She also helps put together public exhibits and other specific research projects.

Her work with the Smithsonian’s Open Access Initiative, which holds more than three million digital items from the collections, stands out as one of her favorite experiences so far. In February 2020, as part of the initiative, Byrne worked with students from Portland, Oregon, who were writing songs on early Smithsonian history alongside artists like The Decemberists’ Chris Funk.

These students used material from the open access collection to create the songs, and Byrne provided them with a lesson on Smithsonian history to spark some inspiration for their songwriting.

Byrne has worked in archives and historical education at the White House Historical Association, the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., and the Birmingham Public Library.

Byrne recognizes how her history professors at BSC prepared her for graduate school and hands-on historical experience. As a student, she held three different internships, which helped her find her path in public history. “BSC showed me what a career with a history degree could mean outside of teaching or attending law school. I see a direct through-line from my time at BSC to my current career.”

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Bob Bottoms ’66 
Indianapolis, Indiana 
Longest serving president of DePauw University, Bottoms' leadership saw applications to the university double, student diversity increase from 3.5 percent to 16 percent, endowment increase five-fold, and minority faculty members increase from 3 percent to 17 percent. In 2000, he received the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Chief Executive Leadership Award. He has served on the boards of the Posse Foundation, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Chicago, the Joyce Foundation in Chicago, and the Center for Leadership Development in Indianapolis.

Sandy Thurmond ’84
Birmingham, Alabama
Vice President of Primary Care Services for Children’s of Alabama, Thurmond began working with Children’s primary care network at the time of its creation in 1995, and has since grown the program to 13 offices located around Alabama, serving around 350,000 patients.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Kindred Case Motes ’12

Kelley Brooks Simoneaux ’07

Rising Star Recipient

William Graham Spencer ’16

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Joelle James Phillips ’89
Nashville, Tennessee
President of ATT Tennessee, the first woman in the company's 100+ year history in the state to hold the position, Phillips was named by the Nashville Business Journal to its "Power 100" List of the 100 most influential leaders in Nashville.

Ellen Woodward Potts ’88
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity's Tuscaloosa Affiliate, Potts and her husband, neurologist Daniel C. Potts, M.D., wrote A Pocket Guide for the Alzheimer's Caregiver and started a dementia education company called Dementia Dynamics.

Frances Osborn Robb ’58
Huntsville, Alabama 
Photographer and author of Shot in Alabama: A History of Photography, 1839-1941, and a List of Photographers, Robb has served as a curator at the National Gallery of Art, taught formally at four universities, and curated many exhibitions in Alabama.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Paul Davis Fancher ’97

Jose David Vega ’04

Rising Star Recipient

Rachel Buchan ’15

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Rev. Traci S. Blackmon '86
Florrisant, Missouri
Executive Minister of Justice & Witness Ministries of The United Church of Christ and Senior Pastor of Christ The King United Church of Christ

Betty M. Hawk '81
Guntersville, Alabama
Former VP and General Manager for 3M

Dr. Robert J. Lerer '66
Fairfield, Ohio
Associate professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, one of the longest-serving health commissioners in the state of Ohio

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Erin Kendrick Stephenson ’01

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

William M. Dawson, Jr. ’66
Birmingham, Alabama
Attorney

Timothy A. R. Callahan ’70
Birmingham, Alabama
Investment consultant to individuals, foundations and endowments, and qualified retirement plans.

Christopher P. Dupont ’85
Birmingham, Alabama
Chef and Owner of Cafe Dupont

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

1. Camille Spratling ’98, ’07

Herbert Joseph Williams IV ’96

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Thomas Norton Dill '68
Birmingham, Alabama
President, Dill Productions, Inc.

Dr. Helen Krontiras Anderson '89
Birmingham, Alabama
Professor of Surgery, Clinic Director, UAB Breast Health Center, Co-Director Lynne Cohen Prevention Program for Women

Dr. Thomas Moody '69
Birmingham, Alabama
Urologist, Urology Centers of Alabama

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Ansley Colling Browns ’01

Kyle Edward Whitmire ’02

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Ulysses "Skip" Bennett '67
Arlington, Texas
First African-American graduate of BSC
Former CFO, Mobil Corporation

Dr. H. Newton Malony '52*
Pasadena, California
Senior Professor of Psychology in Fuller Seminary's School of Psychology

Senator J.T. "Jabo" Waggoner '60
Birmingham, Alabama
Alabama State Senate representing 16th district

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Craig Alexander Langford ’00

Morgan W.W. Murphy ’94

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Robert Corley '70
Birmingham, Alabama
Former director for the Global and Community Leadership Honors Program and the Center for Urban Affairs

Dr. Sharon Spencer '79
Birmingham, Alabama
Chief of Medical Services, Radiation Oncology, University of Alabama Hospitals

Dr. Robert Baldwin '03 MPPM
Birmingham, Alabama
Expert and author on capital punishment

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Rebecca Ashley Beers ’04

Dr. Dan Arnold Milner, Jr. ’95

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Donald R. Kahn '50 *
Birmingham, Alabama
Cardiac Surgeon, Open Heart Surgery Pioneer

Mary Kimbrough Jackson '58
Birmingham, Alabama
Accomplished organist, teacher, choir director, composer, accompanist

David L. Allred '71
Edgewater, MD
Retired, Department of Justice; Adjunct Professor American University College of Law

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Emily Kyzer Browne ’00

Ben Craig ’91

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. H. Joseph Hughes, Jr. '49
Birmingham, Alabama
Internal Medicine Physician
Norwood Clinic

Dan K. Anderson '79
Birmingham, Alabama
President
Diversified Supply, Inc.

Dr. William U. Eiland '70
Athens, Georgia
Director
Georgia Museum of Art

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Allen Clarke Collinsworth ’92

The Rev. Susan Carol Crow ’92

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Hugh Martin, Jr. '35 *
Encinitas, California
American musical theatre and film composer

The Rev. Samuel E. Mann, III '62
Kansas City, Missouri
Pastor, St. Marks Church

Dr. F. Cleveland Kinney '67
Birmingham, Alabama
Professor and Director
Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at UAB

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Ginny Phillips Ashe ‘97

John Paul Huguley ‘91

Marta Lyn McLellan Ross ‘02

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Kirby Sevier, Sr. '68
Birmingham, Alabama
Shareholder
Maynard Cooper & Gale PC

Sally Wood Johnson '53
Birmingham, Alabama
Artist

John O. Northrop, Jr. '72
Birmingham, Alabama
Executive Director
Alabama School of Fine Arts

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Freeda Fawal-Farah ‘89

Charles Erskin Lynn, Jr. ‘93

Christopher George Thomaskutty ‘99

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Robert E. Clem '67
New York, New York
Owner/Filmmaker
Waterfront/Foundation for New York

Elvin R. Hilyer, Jr. '60
Dahlonega, Georgia
Resident Technical Advisor
The Carter Center

Jean Prescott Pierce '52
Birmingham, Alabama
Actress/Director/Playwright
Children's Theatre

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

The Hon. Robert Brown Aderholt ‘87

The Hon. Grover C. Robinson, IV ‘92

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Kenneth W. Bramlett '77
Birmingham
Partner/Orthopaedic Surgeon, Alabama Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center
Specialist in adult arthritis reconstruction and joint replacement surgery

Martha Jane Patton '68*
Birmingham
Executive Director/Attorney, Legal Aid Society of Birmingham
Board Member, National Conference of Women's Bar Associations
Community leader, volunteer

Margaret Enslen Sherrill '51*
Birmingham
Retired medical technologist, posts including Simon-Williamson Clinic and Baptist Princeton
Church volunteer, youth volunteer, crisis counselor

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Charles L. Gaines III '64
Birmingham
Author, journalist, screenwriter, editor
Cine Gold Eagle Awards, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Award

Dr. Carol Newsom '71
Atlanta, Georgia
Charles Howard Candler Professor of Old Testament, Emory University
Scholar, Author, Editor

Theresa Bruno Sprain '57*
Birmingham, Alabama
Educator
Founder, director, Joseph Bruno Montessori Academy

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Rebecca Claire Gilman ’87, ‘06

Karen McElroy Carroll ‘87

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Charles H. Hudgins '62
Gilmer, Texas
Philanthropist
Leader, Higher Education Technology Systems

Dr. Sena Jeter Naslund '64
Louisville, Kentucky
Author
Distinguished  Teaching Professor, University of Louisville
Editor, The Louisville Review

Marian McCoy Phillips '52
Birmingham
Director of Women's Programs, Downtown Birmingham and Shades Valley YMCAs
Coordinator, Birmingham/Jefferson County Special Olympics
Board Member, United Methodist Church Children's Home, Selma

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Dr. James Clyde White II ‘84

Dr. John Kevin Tucker ‘86

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Richard D. deShazo '67
Jackson, Mississippi
Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Director of the Division of Allergy/ Immunology, University of Mississippi School of Medicine
President, Association of Professors of Medicine
President, Southern Society for Clinical Investigation

Hon. James S. Garrett '67
Birmingham
Judge, Circuit Court Criminal Division for Jefferson County
President, Alabama Circuit Judges Association  
President, Alabama Municipal Judges Association

Rev. Dr. Florence Wates Pert '51 *
New York, New York
Senior Associate Pastor, Marble Collegiate Church of New York City; Director of New Spirit Café
Staff Member, The Peale Center for Christian Living
Director of Leadership Development, Guideposts Magazine
Recipient, Community Service Award from the Harlem Interfaith Counseling Service and BUDDY (Bringing Up Daughters Differently) Award from the National Organization of Women

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. S T Kimbrough, Jr. '58
New York, New York
Associate General Secretary of Mission Evangelism for the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church
Author, Opera Singer, Recording Artist

Dr. Elmer Key Sanders '34 *
Houston, Texas
Surgeon, Kelsey Seybold Medical Group
Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery, Baylor University
Assistant Chief, Department of Surgery, Veteran's Administration Hospital
Director of the Cancer Registry, Ben Taub General Hospital

Carol Ann Smith '71
Birmingham
Attorney, Founding Partner of Smith & Ely
President, Birmingham Bar Association

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Eleanor Bergquist Becker '63
Pasadena, California
Associate Director, Editorial Production, Sony Music Entertainment, Inc.
Singer, The Metropolitan Opera

R. Steve Briggs '71
Birmingham
Executive Vice President, Protective Life Insurance Company

Dr. Walter C. McCoy '33 *
Birmingham
Physician—Internal Medicine
Fellow, American College of Physicians
Former President, Medical Staff of St. Vincent's Hospital

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Richard L. Rowan '53 *
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Professor of Industry, Co-Director, Center For Human Resources, and Chairman, Labor Relations Council,
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Member, Committee on International Investment, U. S. State Department

Guthrie J. Smith '35 *
Fayette, Alabama
Mayor, City of Fayette

Gloria Spruill '58 *
Birmingham
Educational Sales Consultant, D. C. Heath & Co.
Community Volunteer

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Clay Long ’58, ’02 *

Richard I. Kirkland, Jr. ’73, ‘05

Dr. Dora Henley Going ’37 *

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

The Hon. Sandra Hendrickson Storm ’68 *

Dr. Arnold Royal ’39 *

Dr. Dorothy Thompson Chambers ‘47 *

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Manly Yeilding, Jr. ’51 *

Elise McWilliams Penfield ‘61 *

Dr. Loretta Graves Brown ’47 *

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

John Andrew Martin ’59 *

John W. Lovin, Jr. ’52 *

The Hon. William M. Acker, Jr. ’49 *

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Laura Adele Rivers ’30 *

Murray C. Fincher ’34 *

Dr. Claudia Barton Blair ’40 *

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Howell H. Raines ’64, ‘98

Elsa Allgood Porter ‘49

Dr. Joseph E. Johnson ’55, ‘01

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

1. Thomas Patton, Jr. ’49
2. Martin Hames ’58 *

Dr. William Hubbard Baxter, Jr. ’42 *

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Henry Claxton Sparks ’36 *

Ouida Blackerby Kinzey ’42 *

James F. Hatcher, Jr. ’43 *

*Deceased

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

The Right Rev. Robert O. Miller ’61 *

Dr. Grace Hughes Guin ’38 *

Mary Margaret Carr ’39 *

Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients

Dr. Oliver C. Weaver, Jr. ’35, ’56 *

Dr. Thomas K. Hearn, Jr. ’59 *

Dr. Ben M. Carraway ’32 *

*Deceased