A Talent for Building Bridges

School of Public Health Benefits from Sam Brown Award

Sam Brown

The Sam Brown Bridge Builder Endowed Award honors the demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and the advancement of the university shown by Samuel Brown Jr., Ed.D. Friends and admirers who established the award in the School of Public Health at UAB wanted to recognize his more than 30 years of service to the university.

“Sam Brown embodies the spirit and enthusiasm of UAB with his constant focus on building partnerships and collaborations across campus, bridges that enhance and expand our research and educational efforts,” says Max Michael, M.D., dean of the School of Public Health. “He has served as a mentor to so many at UAB and has done so with humility, grace, and love.”

Brown retired from UAB in 2005 after more than 30 years in the School of Medicine, where he was the founding director of the Office of Educational Development, a professor in the chairman’s office in the Department of Medicine, and associate dean for program planning and educational research, a position he held from 1996 until his retirement. He also held faculty appointments and served on the executive and management committees for the UAB Center for Metabolic Bone Disease; the UAB General Clinical Research Center; the UAB Center for Emergency Care and Disaster Preparedness; the UAB Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Autoimmunity Center; and the UAB Center for Health Promotion, where he also served as associate director for planning.

As associate dean for program planning and educational research, Brown promoted linkages and interactions among centers and academic units within UAB as well as outside the university in order to increase the institution’s capacity to respond to state and national program initiatives. He also effectively improved the infrastructure for research at UAB and assisted with the preparation of National Institutes of Health individual and institutional training grant, fellowship, and curriculum applications.

The Sam Brown Bridge Builder Endowed Award recognizes a member of the UAB faculty or staff who embodies Brown’s vision, character, and bridge-building talents, and who has demonstrated a deep and abiding commitment to facilitating collaboration and partnership across campus in ways that enhance the research and teaching activities of the university. The inaugural recipient is Sarah Morgan, M.D., professor of nutrition sciences in the School of Health Professions.

Maintaining the Momentum / Winter 2011