February 11, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will honor six local women as the UAB Outstanding Women for 2009 during a ceremony 4:30-5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, in the Bartow Arena, Green and Gold Room, 617 13th St. S. The ceremony will begin at 4:45 p.m.

The UAB Women's Center and the UAB Women's Studies Program present the awards annually during Women's History Month. The awards are designed to honor female members of the UAB community and the Birmingham community at large who have mentored or served other women, taken a courageous stance or overcome adversity. Candidates for the award are nominated by Birmingham residents and selected by a committee of university women.

The 2009 winners are: Outstanding Woman UAB Faculty Member Donna Arnett Ph.D., M.S.P.H., Outstanding Woman UAB Graduate Student Kiya Hamilton, Outstanding Woman UAB Undergraduate Student Sonja Brooks, Outstanding Woman UAB Staff Member Peggy Striplin and Outstanding Woman in the Community Theresa Harper Bruno. Nancy Bell will receive the Susan D. Marchase Outstanding Woman Administrator Award.

Outstanding Woman UAB Faculty Member - Donna Arnett, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., is professor and chairwoman of the UAB Department of Epidemiology. Arnett is chairwoman of UAB's Commission on the Status of Women where she oversees solicitation of ideas of importance to women on campus through various subcommittees. In his nomination letter, Professor David Allison, Ph.D., praised Arnett for mentoring and advising other women scientists and for fostering collaborations between scientists of various disciplines, which he said has resulted in "fruitful collaborations and successful grant applications."

Outstanding Woman UAB Graduate Student - Kiya Hamilton is pursuing a doctorate in the UAB Department of Biostatistics. She is being honored for her scholarship and her work as a representative to the School of Public Health's student association. In their nomination letters, faculty members praised Hamilton for mentoring new students in the Department of Biostatistics and helping in the department's efforts to recruit other female and minority students to the program. She also has worked as a math tutor and as a peer mentor for the UAB McNair Scholars Mentor Program.

Outstanding Woman UAB Undergraduate Student - Sonja Brooks is a senior chemistry major and a student in the University Honors Program. She is president of the UAB Student Affiliate of the American Chemical Society, and she is a peer student leader. In 2006, Brooks received a UAB Department of Chemistry Research Experience for Undergraduates Scholarship to carry out original research. In 2007 she was named as a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar.

Outstanding Woman UAB Staff Member - Peggy Striplin is the senior director of development for the UAB School of Optometry. In his nomination letter, Professor John F. Amos, OD, dean of the UAB School of Optometry, praised Striplin as a fundraiser. She was instrumental in raising funds for the renovation of the primary clinical teaching facility which today is UAB Eye Care, he said. She also helped to increase the number of endowed scholarships in the School of Optometry. In addition, she has mentored other women on campus and in the community.

Outstanding Woman in the Community - Film producer Theresa Harper Bruno has produced several documentaries for the YWCA about the organization's work in other countries around the world. She also created a public service announcement for the YWCA highlighting new legislation related to domestic violence. For her efforts, she has been designated as a World YWCA Ambassador. She also produced a film that chronicled UAB's AIDS initiatives in Zambia. Bruno is a member of the Oasis Women's Counseling Center's Advisory Board. She has also chaired fundraising events for the YWCA and for the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center.

Susan D. Marchase Outstanding Woman Administrator - Nancy M. Bell is the financial associate in the Clinical Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) at UAB. Bell manages the CNRC's financial accounts, writes the budget sections for many CNRC members' grant applications and provides administrative support. Bell also oversees the CNRC's weekly seminar series that has featured world leaders in nutrition and metabolic disease research. Colleagues have credited Bell with having a strong work ethic, an eye for detail and a willingness to be a role model to her staff and a counselor to junior CNRC faculty members.