The Huntsville Regional Medical Campus recently finalized and celebrated the creation of two new endowments at its 45th anniversary event April 8. They are the first endowments established for the Huntsville campus.
The first endowment is named for William H. Coleman, Sr., M.D., Ph.D., and called the William H. Coleman, Sr., M.D., Ph.D., Huntsville Family Medicine Endowed Professorship. Coleman was among the first residents to complete the Huntsville Family Practice residency program in 1977. He currently serves as the director of the Office for Family Health, Education & Research at the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus. He is boarded in Family Medicine and holds a Ph.D. in Anatomy. Coleman manages Alabama’s largest rural primary care workforce database. He practiced family medicine in Scottsboro, AL, for 26 years. During that time, he taught endoscopy to UAB Huntsville Family Medicine residents. He was president of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 1994. From 1996 to 2000 he served on the U.S. Secretary of Health’s National Advisory committee on Rural Health. He was president of the Alabama Rural Health Association from 2013 to 2014. In 2006 Coleman established the Rural Medicine Program between Auburn University and UAB’s Huntsville Regional Medical Campus.
Additionally, Coleman was recently the recipient of the Medical Association of Alabama’s (MASA) Samuel Buford Word Award. The Samuel Buford Word Award is presented in recognition of service to humanity beyond the usual scope of medical practice with such services having been rendered at some personal sacrifice. Created in 1971, the award is named in memory of S. Buford Word, M.D., of Birmingham, who at the time of his death was serving as president of the MASA. The Word Award is the highest honor presented by the association.
“I am greatly appreciative of the Medical Association of Alabama board of censors for this award,” said Coleman. “There is no greater honor than to be nominated by one’s peers and recognized by my state’s medical association.”
The second endowment is named for Lourdes C. Corman, M.D., FACP, and called the Lourdes C. Corman, M.D., FACP, Endowed Support Fund for Huntsville Outreach. Corman came to UAB’s Huntsville campus in 1999 by way of the University of Louisville’s School of Medicine. Since then, she has served as a professor, division director of Internal Medicine, as well as a regional chair of the Department of Medicine. Corman received her medical degree from Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1970. Afterwards, she completed her residency at Medical College of Pennsylvania and also served as chief resident. She went on to complete a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the Medical College of Pennsylvania as well as a fellowship in Rheumatology and Immunology at the University of Missouri. Throughout her career, Corman has been a member of several professional societies and served on many national councils, such as the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American College of Rheumatology. She has also been the recipient of numerous honors, such as the Laureate Award from the Alabama chapter of the American College of Physicians, the Best Attending Award from the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus, and the Gender Equity Award from American Medical Women Association. Corman recently retired from her appointments through UAB’s School of Medicine after an outstanding career in academic medicine.
“We appreciate the leadership and endorsement of the Board of Trustees for the University of Alabama System in creating these enduring tributes to two outstanding physician leaders,” said Roger Smalligan, M.D., dean of the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus.