Posted on May 4, 2004 at 12:16 p.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) will honor the School of Public Health Class of 2004 in ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 7, at the Birmingham Museum of Art. The ceremony will salute 177 students earning their master's or doctoral degrees in public health. Honorable Mayor Hoyt W. (Chip) Howell, Jr., of Anniston, Alabama, will address students and guests.

Dianne Mooney, of Birmingham, Alabama, founder of Southern Living at Home and longtime community activist, will receive the Alabama Public Health Hero award. The honor, presented annually by the school, recognizes an individual’s efforts to improve and protect the health of Alabamians.

Student and alumni awards also will be presented during ceremonies. The award for Outstanding Doctoral Student will be given to Lucy Annang, Ph.D, and the award for Outstanding Master's Student will be presented to Yoko Kawamura, M.P.H.

The 2004 Alumnus of the Year award will be presented to Rep. Ronald Grantland, M.P.H., class of 1982. Grantland, who works with the Alabama Department of Public Health, serves as the public health administrator for area 2, which covers seven north Alabama counties. In the state legislature, he represents Alabama’s 9th District (Morgan County).

Faculty awards will be presented during the “Evening Before” event beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Vulcan Park. Christopher Coffey, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics, will receive the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching.