Austin Jr. Named Spain Endowed Chair

University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology J. Max Austin, Jr., M.D., has been named the Margaret Cameron Spain Endowed Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology. The appointment was approved by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.

October 9, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology J. Max Austin, Jr., M.D., has been named the Margaret Cameron Spain Endowed Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology. The appointment was approved by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.

Austin is a professor in UAB's Division of Gynecologic Oncology and a fellow in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.

"Dr. Austin is a physician with superb skill, character who makes patients feel at ease with their diagnosis, care and treatment options," said John C. Hauth, M.D., professor and chairman of UAB's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "The endowment is honored to have such an accomplished doctor bear its name."

Austin began as a resident at UAB in 1969 and moved up through the ranks of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, becoming associate director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology in 1975. He left the university to work in private practice, and then returned to UAB in 2000 as a professor.

A native of Alabama, Austin earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Emory University in Atlanta and his medical degree from the School of Medicine at UAB. He completed internships and medical residencies in Mobile, Atlanta and Birmingham before entering medical service as a U.S. Air Force major.

Austin is a member of numerous professional societies and served as 2002 president of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. He is the inaugural president of the Charles E. Flowers Society and a member of Leadership Birmingham, Leadership Alabama and Brookwood Baptist Church in Mountain Brook, Ala.

The endowed chair is named for the late Margaret Cameron Spain, the niece of former Birmingham Mayor George B. Ward. Spain's husband, Frank, was an attorney and one of the original incorporators of Liberty National Life Insurance Co. The Spain family was active in the growth of UAB and contributed toward the construction of the Spain Rehabilitation Center, the Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium and other projects.