August 20, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Alabama Rehabilitation Association (ARA) recently named the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Employer of the Year for its outstanding achievement in improving employment for persons with disabilities.

“UAB is proud to be recognized as a leader for the state of Alabama,” said Richard Helling, disability program manager at UAB.

UAB recruits and retains employees with disabilities through the Retaining a Valued Employee (RAVE) program, a partnership between the Office of Human Resource Management at UAB and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS). The RAVE program provides free rehabilitation assistance, including vocational counseling and evaluations, job accommodation requests, on-site job coaching and disability awareness and sensitivity training. The program also helps facilitate the application process for potential employees with disabilities.

“Teamwork is the key to our success,” said Helling, who also is a rehabilitation counselor with ADRS. “We address the needs of both employees and their departments by drawing on the wealth of expertise at UAB and ADRS.”

In her letter nominating UAB for the award, Jennifer Smith, unit supervisor for ADRS, said groups such as the United States Chamber of Commerce are citing UAB as a model employer for disability employment programs.

“In less than four years, RAVE UAB has become a nationally acclaimed model for innovative and successful agency employer partnerships,” Smith said. “UAB has achieved outstanding results in improving employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.”