2007 Premier Award Recipients Announced at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Recipients of the 2007 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 Saturday, Feb. 17 at a recognition ceremony.

The 2007 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 Melissa R. VanKirk of Madison.

As a member of the Student Leader’s Council, VanKirk works with other members to identify initiatives and devise ways students can work together to better the campus. In her role as a resident adviser, she invested time in designing a positive and stimulating living environment for freshmen women, further enhancing their first-year experience. A communications major with minors in English and communicative disorders, she maintains a 3.4 grade point average. She has received a University Capstone Scholarship and an Alabama Forensic Council Scholarship, and she is a member of the University Honors Program and Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society.

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 Emeel B. Salem of Birmingham and Kristi M. Wilcox of Tuscaloosa. Dr. Robert Halli Jr., dean of the UA Honors College, is the non-student recipient.

While Dr. Robert Halli’s most visible work for the University has been through his role as dean of the Honors College, it is perhaps his personal interaction with students and colleagues that has won him their regard, esteem and affection. As an English professor, his passion for his subject makes him popular with students. As a faculty member, his formidable work ethic makes him a sought-after member of various committees and groups. As Honors College dean, his caring efforts to connect with both current and prospective students make him an effective recruiter and trusted mentor.

Love of baseball and academic achievement shape the life of Emeel B. Salem both on and off the field. A UA Baseball Team captain, he also serves as the vice president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee and on the Intercollegiate Athletics Committee. A marketing major with a minor in Spanish, he has higher than a 3.8 grade point average and was the 2006 Culverhouse College of Commerce Student-Athlete of the Year, the SEC baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2006 and an ESPN First Team Academic All-American. He is a member of Golden Key International Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Lambda, and he devotes time to public speaking and extensive volunteer work with schoolchildren.

As co-founder of the UA Creative Campus Initiative, Kristi M. Wilcox combines her intellectual discipline and people skills with a desire to be of service to her community, which is the essence of the Sullivan Award. Her work with Creative Campus continues in her role as president of the Creative Campus Student Organization and the Creative Campus SGA Committee. She is a charter member of the UA Arts Council and a student representative of the Honors College Board of Visitors. An English major and creative writing minor, she maintains a 4.0 grade point average and is a member of Anderson Society, Mortar Board and XXXI. She was the 2006 winner of the John F. Ramsey Award.

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 Jack Trey Hayes III of Brilliant. A founding member of the University Stewards Board, he is also an ambassador for Honors College, the College of Engineering, and Parents and Family Programs. He maintains a 3.7 grade point average in industrial engineering studies, serves as a Blackburn Institute Fellow and participates in community projects, including Alabama Action, Focus First and Relay for Life. He was one of only 50 chosen for the Elliot Society, an honorary for outstanding community contributions. A member of the Jasons, Anderson Society and Mortar Board, Hayes received the Outstanding Junior Award from Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honorary.

The Morris Lehman Mayer Award is named in honor of Morris Lehman Mayer, business professor emeritus. 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.

Dr. Norvin Richards, UA professor and chairman of the philosophy department, has been selected as the faculty recipient of the Mayer Award. Richards has had, in the words of one nominator, “profound and positive influences on our campus and our students.” Richards lavishes time outside of class advising and guiding students; multitudes of pre-law students, especially, have benefited from his mentoring and attention. He has served the campus and community in many ways, especially in dealing with medical ethics issues, working long hours on myriad committees, and in setting an example of personal ethics and unqualified integrity.

Stephanie Emens of Tuscaloosa is the student recipient of the Mayer Award. Emens combines her academic majors of English and Spanish with service to the community. She serves as a member of the Tatuana Spanish Literature Association, has shared her poetry in a number of venues, and has tutored Hispanic children in English as a second language. She devotes many hours to the Anti-Apathy Campaign, planning and executing events to engage students positively in campus life. With a 4.0 grade point average, she is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, XXXI, and president of Honors College Ambassadors. In 2005 she received the Brownell Award as outstanding undergraduate Spanish student and the Black Award for excellence in the study of English.

The 2007 Premier Award recipients will also be recognized in an awards ceremony during UA Honors Week this spring.