UAB graduate student honored as woman of excellence in her field of study

Elizabeth Bevan receives $15,000 award to continue marine research in pursuit of doctoral degree at UAB.
Written by: Katherine Shonesy
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elizabeth bevin streamElizabeth Bevan, a doctoral student in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is one of 90 doctoral students selected to receive a $15,000 Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood.

Originally from South Florida, Bevan attained her Bachelor of Science degree in marine biology from Florida International University, and later earned her Master of Science degree from UAB in 2013 studying the highly endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle in the Gulf of Mexico. She advanced to a Ph.D. program at UAB, where she received the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship by the National Sea Grant College Program in 2014 and the Harold Martin Award for excellence in Biology in 2015.

The P.E.O. Scholar Awards (PSAs) were established in 1991 by the P.E.O. Sisterhood organization to provide substantial merit-based awards for women of the United States and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral-level degree at an accredited college or university. Scholar Award recipients are a select group of women chosen for their high level of academic achievement and their potential for having a positive impact on society.

The P.E.O. Sisterhood, founded Jan. 21, 1986, at Iowa Wesleyan College, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, is a philanthropic educational organization dedicated to supporting higher education for women. There are approximately 6,000 local chapters in the United States and Canada with nearly a quarter of a million active members.