2008 Premier Award Winners Announced at UA

The 2008 UA Premier Award recipients include (front row, L-R) Jessica Garcia, Michelle McGaha, Karoline Richardson, (back row, L-R) John Holaday, Jan Brakefield, Jack Trey Hayes, Tim Neunzig and Alex Flachsbart.
The 2008 UA Premier Award recipients include (front row, L-R) Jessica Garcia, Michelle McGaha, Karoline Richardson, (back row, L-R) John Holaday, Jan Brakefield, Jack Trey Hayes, Tim Neunzig and Alex Flachsbart.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Recipients of the 2008 Premier Awards – the top individual honors for scholarship, leadership and service at The University of Alabama – were announced by UA President Robert E. Witt on Friday, Feb. 29 at a recognition ceremony.

The 2008 UA Premier Award recipients include:

The William P. Bloom Scholarship Award honors a junior who has improved intergroup relations within the University community; this year’s winner is Jessica Garcia of Tampa, Fla., a student in the UA College of Arts and Sciences majoring in English and Spanish.

As co-founder of the University’s chapter of Sustained Dialogue, Garcia has improved interaction and understanding among disparate groups. Sustained Dialogue is a national organization that brings together people of dissimilar backgrounds to address issues dividing the campus and community along political, racial, religious, social or socioeconomic lines.

Garcia also served as an intern with Creative Campus where she had the opportunity to coordinate collaborations among groups who do not normally interact. Currently, she is the appointed lead intern of the ten Hoor renovation project, which brings together engineering, interior design and humanities students and faculty. She has also been involved in the Intercultural Student Council, Student Government Association and Brazos Abiertos.

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is presented to one man and one woman of the graduating class and one non-student who has been helpful to and associated with the University. The Sullivan Award recognizes excellence of character and service to humanity. Student winners of this year’s Sullivan Award are Jack Trey Hayes of Brilliant and Karoline Richardson of Montgomery. Dr. John Holaday is the non-student recipient.

Holaday, a 1968 UA biology graduate, has spent his entire career working to make life better for others through his work in the biosciences. His research and biotechnological pursuits have earned him national and international recognition. He is widely known as co-founder of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. and EntreMed.

Holaday enjoyed a career as a neuropharmacology research scientist at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and as a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as the Uniformed School of the Health Sciences. He has more than 200 publications and holds more than 30 patents.

A long-time supporter of the University who has shared his experience, expertise and resources with the institution in a number of different ways, Holaday exemplifies the excellence of character and service to humanity recognized by the Sullivan Award.

Hayes, an industrial engineering major, has pursued broad interests and influenced many contemporaries in his four years at Alabama. He has been president of the UA Chapter of Mortar Board, a founding member of University Stewards, director of Alabama Action and captain of his intramural football team. He is currently president of the Ambassadors for the College of Engineering.

Hayes has been selected for some of the most prestigious honor societies and institutes on campus: The Jasons, Anderson Society, The Carl A. Elliot Society and the Blackburn Institute. He has also found time to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, Focus First and the ABC program.

As a result of her commitment to academic success and community betterment, Richardson has established herself as a leader both within and outside the University community. The classics major has held key leadership positions in University honor societies, the Student Government Association and the Greek community by serving as president of the Anderson Society, SGA attorney general and president of Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

Richardson’s expansive list of volunteer activities demonstrates her calling to serve as a change agent in pursuit of a better world – whether tutoring with the HangTYMERS program or serving as a volunteer coach for many youth-in-government programs, she has been committed to helping others.

The John Fraser Ramsey Award, named in honor of the late University history professor emeritus, recognizes in a junior the versatility of gifts and attainments, as well as the breadth of excellence in mind and character that have traditionally been the goals of a liberal education. The recipient of the Ramsey Award is Alex Flachsbart of Concord, Calif., a political sciences and economics major.

While at UA, Flachsbart has been actively involved in educating his peers on how government affects daily life. His goals have been to educate undergraduates about the art of policy formulation; to assist state and local governments in policy planning; and to engage communities across the sate in deliberative discussions about their collaborative futures.

As chairman of the BamaBike Task Force, Flachsbart has developed a program that will serve the community for years while forging a legacy for himself. He continues to contribute to the campus community through the University’s Undergraduate Programs and Services Committee and as co-founder of the University Stewards.

The Morris Lehman Mayer Award is named in honor of Morris Lehman Mayer, business professor emeritus who recently passed away. For three decades, Mayer was a beloved UA teacher and a guiding force in student life. The award recognizes one faculty member and one member of the graduating class who exemplify integrity, selfless service and leadership at UA and in the community while making significant contributions to student life.

Jan Brakefield has been selected as the faculty recipient of the Mayer Award. Brakefield, assistant professor and coordinator of college relations in the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences, has worked at UA since 1994, exemplifying integrity, service and leadership on campus. She brings to the classroom a wealth of professional experience from 20 years as a financial institution executive.

Brakefield developed and implemented the Crenshaw Leadership Academy for outstanding HES students. She is active in the Undergraduate Student Success Council, UA Library Advisory Board, CHES Student Financial Advisory Board, Employee Benefits Committee, Phi Mu Sorority faculty adviser, XXXI Honor Society faculty adviser, University Honors Council, Wesley Foundation board of directions and CHES Public Relations Committee chair.

Tim Neunzig of Tuscaloosa is the student recipient of the Mayer Award. He is a senior majoring in business management and German, and throughout his college career has focused on improving the community. Neunzig has been involved with the Alabama Environmental Council where he worked to boost the green consciousness of school and student communities.

Neunzig provided informative and fun activities for native and foreign students through his work with the International Students Association, and he served as secretary of the Student Government Association where he worked to raise voter participation and recognition of the SGA. In 2007, Neunzig became station manager for WVUA where he put forth a vision that would make the marginalized college radio station an “agent for a collaborative community.”

The Dr. Catherine J. Randall Award, named for the former director of UA’s innovative Computer-Based Honors Program, is given for the first time this year to one graduating senior. The Randall Award recognizes the most outstanding student scholar at UA, based on GPA, rigor of course study and extraordinary scholarly or creative endeavor. Michelle McGaha of Albertville, a student in the College of Engineering, is this year’s recipient of the Randall Award.

McGaha is currently serving her second elected term as the Institute of Industrial Engineers student chapter president. She has provided considerable energy, initiative and ideas for the chapter during the past two years, and she was responsible for initiating and directing the most recent service project.

McGaha has additional leadership experience in Tau Beta Pi (where she has received the Outstanding Sophomore, Outstanding Junior and Outstanding Senior Awards), the Society of Women Engineers, Ambassadors for the College of Engineering, honoraries including Phi Eta Sigma and the national Society of Collegiate Scholars, and as a university tutor.

The 2008 Premier Award recipients will also be recognized in an awards ceremony during UA Honors Week this spring.

Contact

Linda Hill, UA Public Relations, 205/348-8325, lhill@ur.ua.edu