December 5, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will honor humanitarian Alice E. Pigman, 95, and the three co-chairs of the Campaign for UAB — Margaret M. Porter, Michael Goodrich and Julian W. Banton — during graduation ceremonies at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 13. Ceremonies will be held at Bartow Arena, 617 South 13th Street. About half of the nearly 2,000 December graduates will take part in the ceremonies.

Pigman will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in recognition of her leadership in the development of services for mentally disabled children and adults in Alabama.

Porter, Goodrich and Banton will receive the UAB President’s Medal, which recognizes scholarly distinction and service to the university. The Campaign for UAB was officially announced in November 1999 with a goal of raising $250 million by the end of 2003. As of November 30, 2003, gifts, pledges and philanthropic grants totaled $380,929,256, an increase of $130 million over the original goal.

ALICE E. PIGMAN

Alice Elizabeth Wolfe Pigman was born March 15, 1908, in Oak Park, Ill., where she graduated from Austin High School in 1924. She began her career in Chicago, where she earned her Kindergarten Elementary Certificate from the Chicago Teachers College in 1930 and her undergraduate education at the University of Chicago in 1932.

In the late 1950s, she moved to Birmingham with her husband, Ward Pigman, Ph.D., a leading biochemist and scientist at UAB. In 1960, she completed her master’s degree at Birmingham-Southern College, where her thesis focused on the organization and administration of classes for the mentally retarded in Alabama. She also earned an education specialist degree from the University of Alabama in 1964.

In 1956, Pigman founded Opportunity Center School, the first facility in the Birmingham area developed to serve children with mental retardation. She was principal and executive director until 1972. At the same time she was executive director of Aid for Retarded Children, now housed in the Alice E. Pigman Center and known as The Arc of Jefferson County.

From 1972 to 1978, she was the assistant to the director for community programs for the UAB Center for Developmental and Learning Disorders (CDLD), now known as the Sparks Center. Later, she became coordinator for community programs for the Jefferson-Blount-St. Clair Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority. In 1975, she testified before the U.S. Department of Justice on the constitutional rights of Alabama’s mentally retarded citizens.

Her many honors include the Outstanding Service Award to the Mentally Retarded, which was presented in 1997 by the Alabama Association for Retarded Citizens in recognition of her lifetime achievements. She is a Fellow in the American Association on Mental Deficiency and Kappa Delta Pi and has been a member of the Council for Exceptional Children, American Association of Social Workers, Mental Health — Mental Retardation Council of Center Directors and the National Association for Retarded Children.

MARGARET M. PORTER

Porter is a native of Birmingham. She attended Brooke Hill School and graduated with honors from Hollins College, Roanoke, Va. She served seven years on the Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation Board before being elected to the Mountain Brook City Council in 1984, where she became president pro-tem and president. She ended her 12 years of public service as mayor.

Porter serves in a variety of community leadership roles. She is chairman of the Children’s Health System Board of Trustees. In 2000 she became a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI), where she is a member of the Child Advocacy Council. Other board service includes The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, EyeSight Foundation of Alabama Inc. and The Beeson Fund of the Junior League of Birmingham.

Porter is a board member of the Birmingham Board of AmSouth Bank, and she is a member of the board of directors of Russell Corp. and chairman of its Corporate Responsibility Committee. She also is a member of the executive board of McWane Center and serves as co-chair of its Future Planning Committee. She is a founding member of the Board of Trustees of McWane Center and was as board chairman for five years. Civic club affiliations include the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, the Women’s Network and the Junior League of Birmingham.

Her numerous honors include the Dorothy M. Schwartz Community Impact Award presented by the Junior League of Birmingham, the Woman of Distinction Award presented by the Girl Scouts, Top Ten Birmingham Women presented in 1994 by the Birmingham Business Journal, the 1998 Children’s Advocate Award presented by Childcare Resources Inc, the 1999 NCCJ Brotherhood & Sisterhood Award, the National Society of Fundraising Executives Alabama Chapter Civic Leader Award for 1999 and the 2001 UAB National Alumni Society Honorary Life Membership Award.

MICHAEL GOODRICH

Michael Goodrich is chairman and CEO of BE&K Inc., which was recently ranked as the 14th largest design/construct firm in the United States. Goodrich joined BE&K in 1972 as assistant secretary and general counsel. During his career with BE&K, he served in the legal and marketing departments. He was named president in 1989, CEO in 1995 and chairman in 2003.

He was born in Milan, Tennessee. Goodrich is a civil engineering graduate of Tulane University and received his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Alabama. He served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers and was discharged with the rank of captain.

Goodrich is past Chairman of the Greater Alabama Council, Boy Scouts of America and a member of the UAB President's Council and the University of Alabama President's Cabinet. He is a past director of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, UAB Health System Board and the UAB Education Foundation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Alabama State Bar Association and the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

Goodrich has been active in the Associated Builders and Contractors, serving on the board of directors of the Alabama chapter for several years. He was elected president of the Alabama Chapter in 1990. He is active in the Construction Industry Institute and is a member of its Board of Advisors and the Board of Advisors of the Construction Industry Roundtable.

JULIAN W. BANTON

Julian W. Banton is president and CEO of SouthTrust Corp. He joined Southtrust in December 1982 as executive vice president for commercial banking. Before joining SouthTrust, he was with Signet Bank in Richmond, Va., where he was responsible for corporate and international banking.

Banton earned his undergraduate degree in business from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MBA from the University of Richmond. He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.

During his 38 years in banking, Banton has held various roles of increasing responsibility. His career has included consumer banking, commercial lending and mortgage banking. He has been responsible for both U.S. corporate banking and international banking. His management responsibilities at SouthTrust have advanced from executive vice president in 1982, to president in 1986, to CEO in 1989, and to chairman, president and CEO in 1990. He was named a director of SouthTrust Corp. in July of 1997 and president in April of 2003.

Banton is a member of the boards of SouthTrust Corporation, Energen Corp., the advisory board of the UAB School of Business, Metropolitan Development Board, Better Business Bureau, Inroads and The Club. He is a past director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta-Birmingham Branch and the Consumer Bankers Association.

He is past chairman of several boards, including the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement, Literacy Council of Alabama, UAB President’s Council, Alabama Symphony Campaign and co-chair of the United Way Campaign.