Past Posts - Heersink School of Medicine Dean

Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., F.A.C.SCommencement is a time of both anticipation and reflection for our students. The long journey through medical school is officially coming to an end, and the next step, toward residency or other postgraduate endeavors, looms on the horizon.

Thanks to the dedicated work of our medical education leadership and staff, our students are well-equipped to conquer the...

The threat of freezing rain in early March is not unusual in Alabama, but this year it forced the cancellation of an event that has become a tradition for the School of Medicine.

Our annual Scholarship Dinner is always a highlight of our year, and so we have spent the last few weeks scheduling lunches, visits, and even a Skype call or two so that our students can personally thank the people who...

On Friday, March 6, the School of Medicine announced the largest goal for alumni giving in our history: $30 million. This effort is part of the $1 billion Campaign for UAB, which began in October 2008 and ends in September 2018.

That goal is ambitious, but think of what it represents:

More scholarships for deserving students, recognizing both their financial need and their academic merit
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Vickers Bookcase In just a few days, the School of Medicine will make a big announcement—a really big announcement—and we want you to be part of it.

On Friday, March 6, we will kick off our School of Medicine Alumni Campaign with a goal that may make some jaws drop. This phase of the billion-dollar Campaign for UAB seeks to inspire medical alumni—MD graduates, former residents and fellows, and graduates of our Joint

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I hope you received your copy of the School of Medicine Annual Report over the holidays, and that you enjoyed reading about the world-class work of our faculty and students during the 2013-2014 academic year. The report is also available online here.

Next up is our State of the School address, set for Wednesday, Jan. 28, at noon at Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium. I invite you join us in...

The past year at the School of Medicine has been marked by so many noteworthy achievements, both large and small, that it’s impossible to list them all here. But one recent accomplishment stands out: The School of Medicine has risen in the National Institutes of Health funding ranking to number 26, with $156 million in grant support, up significantly from last year and our first positive growth...

Today, the School of Medicine announces two philanthropic gifts honoring a husband-and-wife pair of beloved School of Medicine faculty members.

Along with her husband, Wayne H. Finley, M.D., Ph.D., the late Sara Crews Finley, M.D., co-founded the first medical genetics program in the southeastern United States, and was co-director of UAB’s Medical Genetics Laboratory for more than 30 years. She...

Two events over the last couple of weeks gave the School of Medicine the opportunity to publicly demonstrate one of our core values: diversity in our student body and faculty. In mid-September, I had the pleasure of visiting with theCapital City Medical Society in Montgomery; in early October, the School hosted areception for our minority faculty and students.

The goal for each of these...

September 2014

Vickers-Bookcase On September 4, the School of Medicine family gathered to celebrate the memory and the legacy of our longest-serving dean of medicine, James A. Pittman, Jr., M.D., who passed away earlier this year. Dr. Pittman served as dean from 1973 until 1992, presiding over a period of unprecedented growth for the School and the University, especially in the recruitment of outstanding

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August 2014

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The hot, hazy days of August are among the most uneventful of the year in some parts of the world. Not so at the School of Medicine, where August is a time of high excitement and new beginnings, as a new crop of medical students begins one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of their young lives.

The 2014 White Coat Ceremony took place Sunday, August 17 at the Alys...

July 16, 2014

Vickers-Bookcase

On October 24, 2013, just a week after I began serving as Senior Vice President and Dean of Medicine, UAB kicked off the largest and most comprehensive philanthropic campaign in its history. When President Ray Watts announced the goal for the Campaign for UAB, I think we all felt a combination of excitement and trepidation, for $1 billion – with a “B” – is ambitious, to say the...

February 4, 2014

Senior vice president and dean Selwyn Vickers

While the excitement and anticipation of the holidays has receded for most of us, fourth-year medical students across the country still have one last package to open this spring. Match Day is coming up quickly, on March 21, and I’m sure that many of you vividly recall the emotions and feelings that these students are experiencing. January and

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December 13, 2013

Senior vice president and dean Selwyn Vickers speaks at the Distinguished Faculty Lecture award dinner.

On a special evening in November, the School of Medicine, UAB, and Birmingham were witnesses to history. A banquet on November 13 celebrated the 50th anniversary of UAB’s Distinguished Faculty Lecture, our university's most prestigious faculty award.

This year’s recipient is truly

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October 15, 2013

Senior vice president and dean Selwyn Vickers

Thomas Wolfe famously said you can’t go home again, but today, for the second time in my life, I would amend that statement to say if you're lucky, you get to go home again.

Today is my first day as senior vice president and dean of medicine at UAB, and I am both honored and humbled by the opportunity this role presents. I was born...

September 3, 2013