Outstanding Young Alumni

 

2005

Karen McElroy Carroll ’87

As a student in Birmingham-Southern College, Karen Carroll was a member of the President’s Student Service Organization, president of Kappa Delta sorority, and an officer of Phi Alpha Theta.

Following graduation, Carroll has pursued a career in publishing. She is currently editor of Southern Accents magazine, a Southern Progress Corporation publication devoted to the interiors, art, antiques, and gardens of the South. Carroll previously served the magazine aseditorial assistant, assistant editor, entertaining and travel editor, senior editor, and executive editor. She also is author of three books on decorating and entertaining; Accents on Accessories, Southern Style, and Entertaining with Southern Style.

Rebecca Gilman ’87

Rebecca Gilman, a 1987 graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, wrote and produced one of her earliest plays, The Land of Little Horses, while a student at BSC. After earning a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia and an M.F.A. in playwriting from the University of Iowa, she began a career in theatre which has led to international acclaim.

Lauded by The New York Times, Time, and New York magazine, and named by Entertainment Weekly as one of 100 people who “represent the future of entertainment,” she is a Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of the Robert L. Stevens Award from the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, the Osborne Award given by the American Critics Association, London’s George Devine Award, The Evening Standard Award, an After Dark Award, and four Joseph Jefferson Awards for Best New Play.

A recent project, and the subject of her Alumni Reunion 2005 Mini-College presentation, is the adaptation for the stage of Carson McCullers’ classic novel The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Her play, which premieres March 23 at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, will be presented April 29 and 30 at the Virginia Samford Theatre by The Acting Company, a TONY honor-winning touring repertory group.

2004

Dr. James (Jay) White ’84

With a doctoral degree in astronomy from Indiana University, Dr. James (Jay) White II is Crain Professor and Chair of Physics at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. His research deals with binary stars, but his interests expand equally to the politics of science (particularly the practice of science in developing countries) and the intersection of science, popular culture, and education.

Former executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific—the world’s oldest general astronomy organization, with members in 70 countries—and editor of its magazine, Mercury, White extends his role as a dynamic teacher in the field beyond the classroom by regularly leading astronomy tours to places such as Iceland, Australia, Greece, Egypt, and China.

He has been named a Fellow of Britain’s Royal Astronomical Society, a Fellow of the International Astronomical Union, a NASA JOVE Research Fellow, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellow in Global Change and Peace Studies. His professional service includes numerous publications and presentations.

White is a guest lecturer in this year’s Alumni Reunion Mini College.

Dr. Kevin Tucker ’86

With a medical degree from Cornell University, a residency in medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and a fellowship in nephrology at the University of Alabama, Dr. Kevin Tucker was appointed assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in 2002. He formerly was assistant professor in the University of Alabama School of Medicine. His professional honors and recognitions include membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the Alfred Moritz Michaelis Prize for Efficiency in General Medicine, a Commonwealth Research Fellowship, and a Joanna F. Reed Medical Scholarship.

He also has been awarded research grants by the Robert Wood Johnson Minority Medical Faculty Development Fund, the Frommeyer Award, and the National Kidney Foundation.

Tucker has served BSC as class chair, reunion committee chair, alumni-admission ambassador, Boston chapter leader, Norton Board chair for allied health advisory committee, guest lecturer for Alumni Reunion Mini College 2003, career service mentor, and a member of the Ginkgo Society.