From left: President Ray Watts, outgoing NAS president Raymond Thompson, Edward Partridge, Chad Thomas Hagwood and Catherine Danielou at the Alumni Leadership Recognition Awards luncheon. Five people were honored with Alumni Leadership Recognition Awards on Friday, Sept. 29, by the University of Alabama at Birmingham National Alumni Society.
Chad Thomas Hagwood, Edward E. Partridge, M.D., Catherine Danielou, Ph.D., Michelle Cardel, Ph.D., and Raymond Thompson, Ph.D. were bestowed the awards by the NAS for their personal, academic and professional achievements, service to the community, and philanthropy.
Hagwood was honored with the Honorary Life Member Award. This is bestowed upon individuals whose contributions to UAB have benefited the entire university community. This is the National Alumni Society’s highest honor. After graduating from UAB with a degree in finance in 1994, Hagwood embarked on a career in commercial real estate finance. Currently, he is the senior vice president and Southeast manager for Capital One Multifamily Finance. In his current position, Hagwood manages all of Capital One’s Southeast production staff. This year, Hagwood became the first alumnus in the history of the business school to give back $1 million to the Collat School of Business and solidified his legacy through his generous support of UAB. The gift created the Tommy and Anne Hagwood Endowed Scholarship in Commercial Real Estate in honor of his parents, the naming of the Lary Cowart Classroom in honor of his mentor, and the naming of the Chad Thomas Hagwood Finance Lab, a 40-seat advanced teaching space.
Partridge was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award. The honor recognizes not only outstanding professional and community accomplishments, but a demonstrated continual interest in UAB and the National Alumni Society. Partridge earned his M.D. from the UAB School of Medicine in 1973 before completing his residencies and a fellowship at UAB in obstetrics and gynecology. This past July, Partridge retired from his position as the director of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center. Next year, the National Alumni Society will award a $4,000 student scholarship in his honor to a student studying medicine.
Danielou, senior associate dean in the UAB College of Arts and Sciences, was honored with the Honorary Alumni Award. This honor is traditionally presented to a member of the UAB family who has made exceptional contributions to UAB and its programs. Born and raised in the suburbs of Paris, France, she studied American history at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. She earned her Master of Science degree and Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
Cardel was honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which is presented to a UAB graduate under the age of 40. Cardel finished her Master of Science degree in clinical nutrition and dietetics at UAB in 2009, completed a certificate in clinical nutrition and dietetics in 2012, and earned her Ph.D. in nutrition sciences in 2012. She is an assistant professor in the University of Florida College of Medicine’s Department of Health Outcomes and Policy.
Thompson was honored with the 2017 Volunteer of the Year Award. Thompson has two degrees from UAB, a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science, both from the School of Engineering. He founded Vista Engineering in 1998 and has more than 30 years of experience in the field of materials science and engineering. In addition to the duties he performed in his role of National Alumni Society president, Thompson donated much of his time to serving on the university-wide strategic planning committee, provost search committee and special projects that were deemed necessary for the growth of UAB.