Frank Messina, DBA, Endowed Alumni and Friends Professor of Accounting in the UAB Collat School of BusinessFrank Messina, DBA, Endowed Alumni and Friends Professor of Accounting in the UAB Collat School of Business, will receive the 2020 President’s Award for Excellence in Support of UAB and Shared Governance.
The award is given to a member of the UAB faculty, staff or student body who exemplifies and embodies the UAB core value of unity of purpose through shared governance that propels our institution to achieve excellence in all parts of its mission. Recipients are recognized for their use of collaborative dialogue and open communication to promote collective success and their ability to work with multiple constituencies to initiate positive change.
Messina, UAB’s faculty athletics representative (FAR) since 2008, is UAB’s faculty liaison with the National Collegiate Athletics Association and was the only FAR in the nation selected for the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee, which ensures appropriate supervision of the sport for the Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision.
Messina also has been a member of the NCAA Committee on Academics and its data subcommittee, which monitors academic progress and graduation success rates, chaired its Progress Toward Degree Committee and served on its Division I Awards, Benefits, Expenses and Financial Aid Cabinet.
“Frank has a unique talent for understanding how to bridge academic and non-academic programs in higher education.” |
“Frank has a unique talent for understanding how to bridge academic and non-academic programs in higher education,” said UAB President Ray Watts. “He navigates the nuances of ensuring high standards for our student athletes in the classroom and in the world of intercollegiate sports. It’s an asset to our students to have Frank at UAB.”
Even amid the pandemic disruption during the spring semester, UAB student-athletes posted a 3.40 GPA. Overall, 17 of UAB's 18 sports had a 3.0 GPA or higher. Some 244 student-athletes were named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll, and a league-high 86 student-athletes earned the C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal.
Messina began teaching at UAB in 1993, and in 2002 became the founding chair for the department now known as Accounting and Finance. Messina, who earned his Doctor of Business Administration degree in accounting from Mississippi State University, teaches graduate-level tax courses.
One of his former students is Hafiz Chandiwala, the executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief administrative officer of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United and president of the UAB National Alumni Society. He recalls Messina arranging for early morning classes to accommodate students who held fulltime jobs.
“My first introduction to Frank was in a 6 a.m. tax class in 1993,” Chandiwala said. “He came to class with plenty of coffee and ready to talk tax with us. He has always had a passion for teaching and for his students’ development and the UAB community. I am honored to say that he’s become a friend, and I am thrilled he is receiving this recognition; he is very deserving.”
