An appointment to an endowed chair or professorship is among the highest academic honors a faculty member can receive. The UAB Heersink School of Medicine holds a remarkable 214 endowed chairs and professorships. These honors are essential to recruiting and retaining premier educators, clinicians, and researchers. Endowed chairs and professorships also allow donors to link their names to an area of special meaning within the university.

Each year, the School of Medicine welcomes the incoming class with a White Coat Ceremony. The White Coat Ceremony was created in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to emphasize the importance of compassionate care for the patient as well as scientific proficiency. Due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, a White Coat Welcome event for the entering class was held online, with the promise of an in-person ceremony when COVID safety protocols would allow it. 

The Medical Alumni Association board recently approved a gift from their Medical Student Assistance Fund to pay for each rising fourth-year medical student to have access to a National Board of Medical Examiners Step 2 practice exam. The practice exam will help keep students on course for graduation and entry into residency, despite the disruption in learning activities caused by the coronavirus pandemic.