John McWhorter is graduating from the first Executive Doctoral class on Dec. 15. John McWhorter has a lot on his plate. He’s the president of Baylor University Medical Center and Senior Vice President Hospital Division at Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, Texas. He’s responsible for $2.7 billion in revenues for 18 hospitals and more than 12,000 employees. He’s a family man whose mission works have led him to Africa, Belize, Honduras and Mexico.

It would seem that McWhorter has little time for anything else. In just over three years, he has managed to squeeze in a doctoral degree. On December 15, 2012, McWhorter will be one of eight people graduating from the first class of the Executive Doctor of Science Degree in Administration-Health Services from the School of Health Professions at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Birmingham-based Lakeshore Foundation have partnered on an initiative made possible by a $6-million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research to find ways to improve health outcomes among disabled persons.

Two University of Alabama at Birmingham departments have joined forces to create a new doctoral program. The Department of Occupational Therapy and Department of Physical Therapy in the School of Health Professions is offering a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Science this fall.

Samantha Giordano-Mooga, Ph.D., assistant professor and director of undergraduate research in the UAB biomedical sciences program, was selected as the winner of the 2024 Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research.

The UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) has awarded Seung-Yup (Joshua) Lee, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Health Services Administration, a 2024 CCTS Pilot Award.

Shannon H. Houser recently received the AHIMA Triumph Influencer Award.

Nancy Borkowski received the 2024 Regent’s Senior-Level Healthcare Executive Award from the Alabama Healthcare Executives Forum, an officially designated chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

José Fernández, Ph.D., FTOS, was named a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Distinction from The Obesity Society (TOS) for “leadership and scholarship in the field of obesity that has inspired a more diverse group of scientists and clinicians.”

Five students have been awarded a UAB School of Health Professions Blazer Forever Scholarship. The award is given to SHP students during Homecoming Week based on an essay answer. This year, we asked students to talk about the ways classroom collaborations and/or team-based learning has made them stronger teammates.

Each summer, the Department of Occupational Therapy joins with UAB Arts in Medicine to host two 4-week virtual magic camps for children with disabilities. It’s a unique skill-building opportunity for both the children and graduate students in UAB’s Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy program, who complete one of their Level I Fieldwork experiences as camp coaches.

A multidisciplinary group of low vision practitioners and people with visual impairments gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in early September at the Low Vision Matters conference. There, they heard Beth Barstow, PhD, OTR/L, and Jason Vice, PhD, OTR/L, speak about low vision evaluation, assessment, and intervention, and spent a day in hands-on labs.

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Rachel Ashcraft, MS, OTR/L, TBRI Practitioner, received the Alabama Occupational Therapy Association’s (ALOTA) highest honor, the Elsie Holmes McKibbin Award, at its 2024 Annual Fall Conference in Gulf Shores, AL.

Redemption Earned, an Alabama-based nonprofit, has appointed UAB Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Sarah Tucker, PhD, OTR/L, to its board of directors.