The Start of Something Great

African American Faculty Association Supports Community Students

Fred Wallace, Carolyn Walden, Carol Garrison, LaTavia McCall, and Lou Da

On February 12, 2009, the members of the African American Faculty Association (AAFA) gathered to recognize the beginnings of a legacy at UAB. “Because of our commitment to higher education, the AAFA has endowed a scholarship to encourage graduates of public high schools in the Birmingham metropolitan area to pursue their educational goals at UAB,” explains Michael S. Fitts, assistant professor in the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences and AAFA president.

Front row: Bettye Wilson, Heather Martin, Lisa Gary, LaTavia McCall, Carolyn Walden, and Linda Harris; back row: Olivio Clay, Gail Wallace, Angela Lewis, George Munchus, Ingrid Oakley, Michael Brooks, Michael Fitts, Philip Musa, Michele Jean Sims, Claude McCann, and Tondra Loder-Jackson

In 2006, AAFA started a scholarship committee chaired by Carolyn Walden, head of cataloging at UAB’s Mervyn H. Sterne Library. With fund-raising by the scholarship committee and gifts from more than 30 faculty, the fund now totals more than $12,000.

LaTavia Denise McCall, a sophomore biomedical engineering student, became the inaugural award recipient for the 2008-2009 academic school year. “The scholarship has afforded me an opportunity to continue my education at UAB and focus on my educational goals,” says McCall, who plans to pursue a challenging career working with prosthetic limbs and other life-improving device designs. “Being the inaugural recipient of the African American Faculty Association Endowed Award is a prestigious and memorable honor.”

Maintaining the Momentum / Summer/Fall 2009