Posted on May 16, 2002 at 10:10 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Mike Cleveland, president of Apex Safety and Health Consultants in Aliso Viejo, California, and principal owner of Indoor Environmental Monitoring in San Diego, recently received the Alumnus of the Year Award presented by the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The award and a check for $1,000 — funded by Mr. Peter Cowin and the Hillcrest Foundation — was presented to Cleveland during the school’s convocation ceremonies held earlier this month.

“If students are the heart of a school, then the alumni are its soul,” says Dr. Max Michael, dean of the School of Public Health at UAB. “We owe our existence to those such as Mr. Cleveland who remain closely connected to the school and who generously share of their time, talents and financial gifts to ensure our continued success.”

Cleveland is a 1985 graduate of the industrial hygiene program in the department of environmental health sciences. His continuing contributions to the school include co-authorship of articles; the conception of an endowed lectureship honoring Vernon Rose, Dr. P.H., an esteemed researcher in the field of industrial hygiene; employment of summer interns and graduates; and ongoing financial support.

“He is a true mentor who actively works to promote the school’s programs, students and graduates,” says Joan Ohrn, director of alumni relations for the school. “To sum it up, Mike is an alum who talks the talk and walks the walk.”