The Dean’s Awards for Outstanding Undergraduate Students and Outstanding Graduate Students recognize exceptional undergraduate and graduate students in the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s College of Arts and Sciences who have made significant contributions to the UAB community.
This year, the dean’s selection committee chose four undergraduate students and six graduate students from a competitive pool of nominees representing all 19 departments in the College. Read more about the winners below through excerpts from their nomination letters. Congratulations to the award recipients!
2026 Undergraduate Dean's Awards
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Mason Bayles | Chemistry, Mathematics, Immunology
Mason Bayles | Chemistry, Mathematics, Immunology
“Mason is an absolutely exceptional student in every sense of the word. I have not yet seen a student with the same analytical skills, intelligence, dedication, technical mastery, and interpersonal benevolence as him.” -
Zoey Swalley | Immunology
Zoey Swalley | Immunology
“Zoey has been an absolutely remarkable addition to my research team. She learns very quickly and is currently managing two of her own research projects in addition to carrying a full load of demanding courses – all while maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA.” -
Alyssa Abbott | Philosophy
Alyssa Abbott | Philosophy
“In fifty years teaching a UAB, I have never had a freshman decide to become a bioethicist and be so persistently passionate about that career. In these five decades, I've written hundreds of letters for graduating UAB seniors for graduate training in medicine, law, and philosophy, and I've never been so confident that a student will be both successful and a credit to UAB as a clinical bioethicist.” -
Brianna Dotson | Psychology
Brianna Dotson | Psychology
“Brianna was highly productive [in my lab] – she assisted with four research studies, completed an honor’s thesis, developed and presented eight posters at local and national conferences, and contributed to two manuscripts and four other conference presentations. Across all projects and tasks, Brianna’s performance was exceptional.”
2026 Graduate Dean's Awards
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Sarah Nealy | Chemistry (Doctoral)
Sarah Nealy | Chemistry (Doctoral)
“Through our ongoing research collaborations over almost 4.5 years, I see Sarah as a community-minded, research-savvy young professional aspiring to her full potential as an authentic scientist and educator.” -
Sam Mabry | Cyber Security (Interdisciplinary program between the Department of Computer Science and J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice)
Sam Mabry | Cyber Security (Interdisciplinary program between the Department of Computer Science and J. Frank Barefield, Jr. Department of Criminal Justice)
“His work reflected a graduate-level, indeed, professional-level, understanding of how technical findings can inform policy, enforcement, and victim protection. Sam possesses both exceptional technical skills in cyber security and a strong sense of public responsibility.” -
Forrest Hilton | Fast-track Bachelor’s/Master’s in Mathematics
Forrest Hilton | Fast-track Bachelor’s/Master’s in Mathematics
“Forrest’s intellectual curiosity was transparent from the beginning, and as the semester progressed it became clear that he also possessed an extraordinary mathematical talent […] Moreover, his work was an impressive mix of ingenuity and rigorous analytical thinking.” -
Riley Yager | Physics (Doctoral)
Riley Yager | Physics (Doctoral)
“It is apparent that she wants to benefit society through her research and community service, with an underlying ambition to development of greenhouse gas conversion systems. Such ambitions and community commitment outside of her immediate work duties are admirable and point to a person with strong civic conviction.” -
Chloe Jones | Medical/Clinical Psychology (Doctoral)
Chloe Jones | Medical/Clinical Psychology (Doctoral)
“The bottom line is that Chloe is a remarkable clinical researcher. It has been a pleasure working with such an extraordinarily bright and motivated clinician-scientist trainee.” -
MiKayla Eason | Social Work
MiKayla Eason | Social Work
“MiKayla Eason embodies the values of the social work profession — service, social justice, dignity, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence — in everything she does. She is a scholar, a clinician, a community organizer, and a leader.”
