Christy Manning, administrative director for Graduate Programs in the Collat School of Business; Adrienne Fowler Payne, program director for the Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience program; and Davis “Ed” Ramsey, computer system administrator for UAB IT Desktop Services, are the first-quarter 2022 honorees for the UAB Shared Values in Action Program. The UAB VIP Awards honor employees whose work exemplifies and embodies one or more of the university’s shared values — integrity, stewardship, collaboration, accountability, respect, excellence and achievement, and diversity and inclusiveness.
Honorees are nominated by their colleagues and selected by a committee of individuals from across the campus and UAB Hospital. Nominations for second-quarter 2022 honorees are open through June 1; submit a nomination online. One of 12 VIP honorees throughout the year will be selected for the new President’s Award for Excellence in Shared Values; the 2021 winner was Malcolm Marler, D.Min., chaplain and senior director of UAB Pastoral Care.
Christy ManningChristy Manning
Christy Manning’s embodiment of UAB’s values in her work has had a profound effect on her colleagues, the students and the UAB community. Colleagues have noted that Manning often is visited by former students, sometimes years after graduation.
“These lasting relationships serve as a testament to Christy’s impact on the lives of these students and the UAB legacy she has helped impart on them,” said Joe Talty, program director of operations in the Graduate School’s Office of Postdoctoral Education.
Often the best way to teach and share values is to demonstrate them, and Talty said Manning has done just that.
“I firmly believe that because of the guidance and support Christy has provided to these students, they remain grateful and connected to our university, spreading the values that make our university so special,” he continued.
According to Arlene Savage, Ph.D., professor of accounting, Manning’s dedication to UAB’s values and its stakeholders have led to improvements in her department and beyond.
“She fiercely and passionately advocated for students by helping me understand previously unknown factors that I had not considered in my decision making,” Savage said.
Manning recently has identified trends in student experiences, curriculum challenges and insights on how UAB’s programs are perceived in the community, adds Paul Di Gangi, Ph.D., Paul Di Gangi, associate professor of in the Department of Management, Information Systems and Quantitative Methods.
“Her proactive actions motivated our faculty and administrators to take a comprehensive approach to improve our graduate programs on strategic, tactical, and operational levels,” Di Gangi said. “Her focus on being inclusive in involving stakeholders to ensure our students, alumni, and community benefit exemplifies her dedication to making UAB a rising star within graduate school business education.”
Adrienne Payne LEXI COON / University RelationsAdrienne Fowler Payne
Payne is the regional partnerships lead for the CU2RE program, which aims to improve Alabama’s medical landscape, increasing the quantity and quality of family medicine and primary care in underserved urban and rural areas of Alabama.
Irfan M. Asif, M.D., chair and professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, said he believes this valuable program is in good hands with Payne.
“Through her leadership, CU2RE has brought on more than 10 new hires, accepted 23 students from all of UAB’s campuses and awarded thousands of dollars to local preceptors to enhance medical education,” he continued.
The program’s growth and positive impact can be directly linked to Payne’s dedication to collaboration, respect, excellence and achievement, said Erin Slay-Wilson, communications specialist in the Family and Community Medicine Chair Office.
“Adrienne is incredibly helpful and goes out of her way to ensure that the communications team knows what is happening with CU2RE,” Slay-Wilson said. “Our regular meetings always end with a comment of willingness to explain or provide more materials for program promotion, and I see her actively working to improve the team through group meetings, emails and weekly updates.”
Payne’s collaborative nature extends to other parts of her work, adds Asif.
“It is efforts like hers — consistent, dedicated, executed with passion and care — that will help us to improve primary care in Alabama and work toward a healthier state for all Alabamians,” he said.
Davis "Ed" Ramsey STEVE WOOD / University RelationsDavis “Ed” Ramsey
Davis “Ed” Ramsey, a Blazer for more than 30 years, is a computer system administrator for UAB IT Desktop Services and works to maintain mobile devices and UAB’s TechTools program.
During UAB’s limited business operations, Ramsey was “a one-person department,” said Jamie Witter, director of IT Client Services. “He [was] on campus every day making sure that UAB Campus faculty, staff and researchers had the cellular devices and wireless services that they need.”
Ramsey’s work was particularly vital to the many employees and students dependent on their mobile devices to continue working and attending school in 2020. In addition to managing mobile devices for UAB’s workforce, Ramsey also oversaw distribution of a limited number of loaner devices for students at the beginning of the pandemic.
“He understands the importance of his customer’s work and makes sure that they have what they need when they need it,” said Witter.
Witter added that, in the more than five years they have worked together, there has never been an escalation to anyone above Ramsey regarding his service — “I cannot stress enough from a customer service perspective how rare this is,” Witter said.