April 30, 2009

Charles Collat. Download image.

• Commencement consists of two ceremonies

• Caroline P. Ireland and Charles Collat to be honored

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Spring commencement at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will be conducted in two ceremonies Saturday, May 9 in Bartow Arena, 617 13th St. South. Each ceremony will include about half of the 2,235 spring graduates. Attendance at each ceremony is determined by school. Each ceremony is expected to last about one hour.

Ceremonies for the schools of Education, Arts & Humanities, Social & Behavioral Sciences and Natural Sciences & Mathematics will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Ceremonies for the schools of Nursing, Business, Engineering, Health Professions, Public Health, Medicine, Dentistry and Optometry will begin at 2:30 p.m.

A commencement address and the presentation of an honorary degree will be a part of each ceremony. Honored May 9 will be civic leaders and long-time UAB supporters Caroline P. Ireland and Charles A. Collat.

Caroline Ireland. Download image.

"The creation of two ceremonies for the May commencement, the most highly attended of UAB's annual spring and winter commencement exercises, will better accommodate the graduates and provide adequate seating and parking for their families and friends," said Doug Rigney, Ph.D., vice president for Student Affairs.

9:30 a.m. Commencement Ceremony

Graduating senior Olivia "Libby" Telle will deliver the commencement address. The daughter of Anthony and Lynn Telle of Birmingham, she is a member of the University Honors Program and was named to the USA Today Academic All USA Third Team in 2008. In 2004, Telle volunteered with the UAB Department of Nutrition Sciences where, under the supervision of UAB researchers Tim Nagy, Ph.D., and Maria Johnson, Ph.D., she conducted a research study on the effects of body fat in the instances of malignant tumors. In 2007, as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, she conducted a research project on adolescent health at the UAB Department of Maternal and Child Health under the direction of UAB Professor Frank Franklin, M.D., Ph.D. She will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish. She plans to pursue a master's degree at the UAB School of Public Health and attend the School of Medicine at UAB.

Charles A. Collat, Chairman Emeritus of Mayer Electric Supply Co. Inc., will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Humanities. Collat is well-known as the business executive who grew the Birmingham-based company into one of the city's largest privately held corporations and one of the nation's top 15 electrical distributors.

Collat is equally well-known and respected for his civic and philanthropic career, which encompasses support for education, health care and family services. He served on the boards of directors and has been an active member of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Foundation, United Way and the Birmingham Area Boy Scouts.

Collat and his wife, Patsy Weil Collat, have devoted time and resources to numerous organizations, including the Birmingham Jewish Foundation, where they established the Collat Jewish Family Services Fund. The fund provides families with financial and emotional support, assists senior adults in leading full and independent lives and enhances the quality of life of the Jewish community.

Longtime supporters of higher education and UAB, the Collats have funded numerous university programs through personal contributions as well as gifts from Mayer Electric Supply Co. and the Mayer Electric Supply Foundation, including the establishment of the UAB School of Business Ben S. Weil Endowed Chair of Industrial Distribution in honor of Patsy Collat's father, founder of Mayer Electric. In 2007, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees recognized the Collats' contributions by renaming the program the Charles and Patsy Collat Industrial Distribution Program.

The Collats also completed the funding for the Charles A. and Patsy W. Collat Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery in the School of Medicine. Additional gifts from the Collats have benefited UAB Athletics; the UAB Center for Palliative and Comfort Care; AIDS, surgery, ophthalmologic and cancer research; and the schools of Business, Education, Engineering and Medicine.

2:30 p.m. Commencement Ceremony

Graduating senior Brittney Williams will deliver the commencement address. The daughter of Clint and Valorie [cq] Williams of Huntsville, Williams was president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, and president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She was a resident assistant in the Department of Student Housing and Residential Life. Her many volunteer activities include service with Hands On Birmingham and tutoring for Project F.R.E.E. at Jackson Elementary in Birmingham. She will graduate with a Bachelor of Science with Honors in biomedical engineering with minors in chemistry, biology, Spanish and mathematics. She recently was named to the university's Academic Realignment Commission. She will attend the University of Utah School of Medicine in the fall.

Caroline P. Ireland has a long history of sharing her resources, time and talents with the UAB community. Most recently, she established the Caroline P. Ireland Endowed Award for Exceptional Students and Projects in Graduate Studies. This award fosters a commitment to research and discovery by providing up to 10 scholarships annually to master's degree students who pursue a research- and thesis-requiring degree, as well as travel awards for those students who need to travel to facilitate the completion of their dissertation work.

Ireland's support of UAB includes funding a conference room in the Reynolds Historical Library named in her honor and a major portion of the ninth floor in the West Pavilion, as well as contributing to the Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, the Department of Art and Art History, the School of Nursing and the Camellia Medical Group. She also volunteered her time as a member of the UAB Campaign Committee of 100 and the Campaign for UAB Feasibility Study for the School of Arts & Humanities.

In 1984, Ireland funded the establishment of the Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Endowment for Scholarly Distinction. The endowment funds two annual Ireland Prizes: the Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Distinguished Visiting Scholar Prize, which encourages higher levels of scholarly endeavor at UAB, and the Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Award for Scholarly Distinction, awarded annually to a UAB faculty member whose scholarly accomplishments have achieved national or international recognition. The Charles W. Ireland Presidential Honors Scholarship promotes the in-state education of gifted students who demonstrate promise for future positive impact on the state. The Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland International Students Fund support the university's International Scholar and Student Services.

Ireland also is well-known throughout the state as a committed civic volunteer and a longtime benefactor of the Birmingham community and UAB. Ireland and her late husband, Charles W. Ireland, furthered education, medicine and the arts through gifts to, and involvement with, numerous local institutions and organizations.

Ireland was member of the President's Society of the Junior League of Birmingham for its annual giving campaign that benefits organizations that improve the health, education and well-being of women and children in the community.

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