June 23, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Clinton Colmenares has joined the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as director of media relations, effective immediately.
In his new position, Colmenares reports to Dale Turnbough, UAB associate vice president for Public Relations and Marketing; the department is part of the overall Office for Development, Alumni and External Relations.
Working with an experienced staff of media relations professionals, Colmenares is responsible for developing and coordinating print, electronic and online media relations programs and outreach efforts at the national and international level, as well as state and local. He will serve as an official UAB spokesperson.
"We're delighted to have Clinton join us," said Turnbough. "His extensive background in public relations and news reporting, especially in higher education and health care, means he comes to UAB well prepared for this leadership role."
Colmenares, a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, previously worked in Alabama at the Montgomery Advertiser, where he was the health reporter from 1998 to 2000. While at the Advertiser he received awards for his reporting from the Associated Press, Medical Association of the State of Alabama and Gannett. Colmenares went on to work at the Nashville Tennessean, and later held news director positions at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the University of Maine and, most recently, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He began covering academic research as a reporter in San Antonio, where he received an Anson Jones M.D. Citation Award from the Texas Medical Association.
"UAB is an outstanding university with a stellar reputation among its peers," said Colmenares. "My goal is to continue moving us toward our proper place - as one of the best public universities in the country - in the minds of the general public in Alabama, across the country and around the world. The use of social media will be key to our strategy."
About UAB
Known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical center and the state of Alabama's largest employer with some 18,000 employees and an economic impact of more than $3.5 billion on the Birmingham area. UAB has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service to America's communities, and in 2008 ranked nationally as one of the top 5 "Best Places to Work in Academia" in a survey published by The Scientist magazine. For more information, please visit www.uab.edu.