BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama System has approved an endowed scholarship for students of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health, The Donna Lee Rickert Endowed Scholarship.

The scholarship has been established to celebrate the memory of Donna Lee Rickert, Dr. P.H., and to recognize her dedication to public health, particularly maternal and child health, epidemiology and international health.

The endowment was established by her husband, Dr. Edward Rickert and has been supported by many friends and colleagues. “This memorial to one of our outstanding graduates will allow many more students to pursue their passion for public health and to contribute to the health and well being of people in some of the same ways that Donna did,” said UAB School of Public Health Dean Max Michael, M.D. “This scholarship immeasurably helps the school extend its reach to inspire and guide the next generation of public health professionals.”

Donna Rickert earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology, master of public health in epidemiology and doctorate in maternal-child epidemiology from UAB. In addition to her time as a program director and instructor at UAB, she was director of the Division of Health Statistics for the Jefferson County Department of Health in Birmingham and was the lead epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Immunization Program, in Atlanta.