The inaugural UAB Educational Summit was held on September 23, 2011. At the invitation of Dr. Gustavo Heudebert, Dr. George Karam spoke at the plenary session on The Gift and Obligation of Legacy. He discussed the core components of the wisdom espoused by Dr. Tinsley Harrison. These included the concept of priesthood in medicine, the insight regarding thinking, an educational equation in which heart was conveyed to be more dominant than head, and the Harrison-named tenet of moral and mental discipline.
Following that session, to signify the importance of the values that Dr. Harrison described for both caring for patients and for learners, the leadership of the UAB Internal Medicine Residency chose to formally bond the residency to Dr. Harrison. On November 1, 2011, the program officially became the University of Alabama at Birmingham Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program.
Dr. Craig Coe was at the UAB Educational Summit, and he and Karam discussed ways to ensure future UAB residents would always be aware of the wisdom and values of Dr. Harrison. To sustain Dr. Harrison’s invaluable gift of legacy, Coe and Karam, with contributions from members of UAB’s internal medicine intern class of 1980-1981 (categorical and preliminary), of which Coe was a member and Karam their chief resident, created an endowment. The Legacy Endowed Support Fund for the Tinsley Harrison Internal Medicine Residency Program was formally adopted by the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama at its meeting on April 12, 2013.
Interest on the corpus of the endowment allowed the residency program director, Dr. Lisa Willett, to conceive and implement the initial project: a dinner - - subsequently named the Legacy Dinner - - for rising third-year residents, hosted at the beginning of the academic year. The intent was to begin the process of creating awareness about the traditions that Dr. Harrison established.
On June 26, 2012, the inaugural Legacy Dinner was held at the home of Dr. Glenn Cobbs and his wife, Naneita. Presenting to the residents, who were beginning their third year of training in less than a week, and to the program leadership in attendance, were Drs. Bill Dismukes, Cecil Coghlan, and Glenn Cobbs. It was during Dr. Cobbs’ comments that the term "Contagious Fire" was first introduced. Of note, there had been no recorded mention of that term either in published works or archival records.
The five bronze plaques in this collection are a product of the Harrison Legacy Project. They include four foundational messages from the September 23, 2011 Educational Summit and one from the June 26, 2012 inaugural Legacy Dinner. It is the intent of the donors, all of whom are alumni of the residency, that the plaques contribute to the awareness of Dr. Harrison's values. The goal is that these art forms will inspire and embolden the obligation of sustaining Dr. Harrison's exceptional wisdom and profound philosophies, given to all who have the privilege of learning at UAB.
