Honoring Excellence in Scholars and Donors

University Honors Program Holds Reception

“It’s little wonder that our honors program continues to be a model for other such programs around the nation,” said UAB provost Eli Capilouto, D.M.D., at the April 2010 University Honors Program scholarship reception. “That UAB can boast such exceptional students is due in large part to the generous support and involvement of this community, and we are grateful to our donors who have established these scholarships.”

The reception also honored Bill Spencer, a dear friend who passed away in March. His generosity and advocacy of the program are reflected in a number of the scholarships awarded and in the beautifully renovated building that houses the University Honors Program and bears his name. “Bill’s support and passion for this program were truly boundless and, in turn, made for boundless possibilities for generations of young students and will do so for generations to come,” Capilouto added.

Student speakers included Shannon Denny, McCallum Minority Scholar; Hannah Hughes, Virginia B. and William M. Spencer III Scholar; Ingrid Pfau, Steven C. Smith Discovery Scholar; Hernandez Stroud, Hess-Abroms Scholar; and Elise Webster, Rushton Fellow. This year’s honors program students receiving distinguished awards include Grace Benton, Clinton Scholar; Jennifer Ghandhi, the seventh Phi Kappa Phi Fellow in as many years and an Alpha Lambda Delta Graduate Fellow; Shweta Patel, one of three Goldwater Scholars at UAB this spring and the seventh in the past three years; Pratik Talati, Alpha Lambda Delta Graduate Fellow; Logan Talbot, UAB’s fifth Truman Scholar; Krish Varma, U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholar; and four students selected for the Teach for America program, one of whom will be among the first members ever assigned to serve in Alabama’s public schools.

Maintaining the Momentum / Summer 2010