Amanda Sherman, director of alumni engagement for the School of Health Professions, is 1 of 4 chosen as the fourth-quarter 2023 honorees for the UAB Shared Values in Action Program.
The UAB VIP Awards honor employees whose work exemplifies and embodies one or more of the university’s shared values — integrity, stewardship, collaboration, accountability, respect, excellence and achievement, and diversity and inclusiveness. VIP honorees have made a lasting impact on the fabric and culture of UAB by exemplifying the university’s shared values.
Amanda Sherman has touched many lives and helped many people throughout her time at UAB. In more than 15 letters of recommendation for the UAB VIP Award, Sherman is consistently described as an inspirational leader dedicated to excellence, inclusiveness and integrity.
“She sets ambitious standards for herself and others, leading by example and inspiring those around her to embrace honesty, accountability and transparency,” said Mary Foster, a colleague in the School of Health Professions. “Her commitment to ethical leadership is unwavering, ensuring shared values are not compromised for short-term gains.”
Sherman’s drive has led to tangible successes for her department. According to SHP Professor Christy Lemak, Ph.D., Sherman’s engagement with department alumni has helped raise nearly $4 million and added over 30 new endowed scholarships since 2014.
Lemak also credits Sherman’s organizational skills, noting that she created and diligently used her own checklists for alumni communication, events and records.
“We joked about getting ‘Amanda’s Checklist’ because we knew it would help make our work better and she led us through after-meeting reviews where we learned from our experience, updated and improved the process, and did better the next time,” Lemak said. “We are so fortunate to have her commitment to excellence and improvement.”
In 2022, Sherman won the SHP Dean’s Award for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and was recently elected by SHP staff to serve as the chair of the SHP Staff Council.
“This is a well-deserved recognition of her dedication, leadership, and (illustrates) the trust her colleagues have in her,” Foster said.
Added Lemak: “Amanda’s answer is never no. Instead, she responds, ‘We’ll figure it out’ or ‘we’ll make it awesome,’ and she does.”
Three of the four UAB VIP Award winners this quarter have ties to the School of Health Professions. Sherman is one of two SHP staff members to earn the honor this quarter. Brooke Gleason, post-award grant administrator in the school's Dean’s Office, is the other winner from our staff. And Whitney Covington, a clinical research coordination manager for the Department of Emergency Medicine, is an alumna of our B.S. in Medical Technology program, what is today known as Medical Laboratory Sciences.
