June 15, 2000

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Michael E. Stephens, a graduate of the UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) School of Health Related Professions, has endowed a scholarship for the school’s Master of Science in Health Administration program.

His gift of $250,000 will establish the Richard A. Lind Scholarship, named after Stephens’ mentor and fellow UAB graduate, Richard Lind, president and chief executive officer of Memorial Health Systems in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Stephens is founder of the Lakeshore Foundation, a charitable organization for the physically disabled, and ReLife, Inc, a rehabilitation services company.

Stephens' interest in rehabilitation medicine is a personal one. At the age of 26, a diving mishap left him paralyzed from the neck down and doctors told him he would never walk again. Refusing to give up, Stephens underwent intense rehabilitation and was able to walk out of the hospital after three months.

His own rehabilitation experiences convinced him to devote his career to the field. He returned to school and earned his Master of Science in Health Administration from UAB. In 1975, Stephens became executive director of Lakeshore Hospital. Under his leadership through the next decade, Lakeshore Hospital became world-renowned for its work in the rehabilitation of people with physical disabilities.

“We applaud Michael Stephens for the enormous support he has continually given to UAB and to the community, said UAB president W. Ann Reynolds. “The Richard A. Lind Scholarship will have a great impact on our university, benefiting students who will, in turn, go on in their professional lives to benefit others.”

Lind received a Master of Science in Hospital and Health Administration from UAB in 1971.