October 9, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The University of Alabama Board of Trustees recently established an endowed professorship in gynecologic oncology in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

The J. Max Austin, Jr., M.D., Professorship honors the scientific and clinical accomplishments of Dr. Austin, a UAB gynecologist. The professorship was made possible by a $500,000 gift from The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

It will allow the department to recruit or retain one of the most accomplished scientists in the field with the ability to bring additional funding to UAB. It will be awarded to a faculty member who has received recognition in the field of gynecologic oncology and the income from the endowment will be used to assist that individual in pursuing research or other scholarly activities.

Dr. Austin has been a great supporter of UAB for the past 25 years. He received his bachelor's degree from Emory University in 1963 and earned his M.D. from the Medical College of Alabama in 1967. He began as a resident at UAB in 1969 and moved up through the ranks of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, becoming associate director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in 1975.

In 1977, he established a private practice where he worked for more than 20 years. Upon retiring from his private practice, he returned to UAB as professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology.

Dr. Austin has been a member of numerous distinguished professional societies, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; American Medical Association, charter member and first president; Charles E. Flowers Society; member of Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Alabama; and Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, of which he will serve as president in 2002.