John Northrop, Jr. ’72 and Solomon Crenshaw, Jr. ’80 of Birmingham appeared on screen in “Iron Grit,” a documentary about Birmingham’s first black mayor, Richard Arrington, Jr., which premiered at Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival in August. As reporters for the Birmingham Post Herald and The Birmingham News, they covered the shooting death of Bonita Carter, a 20-year-old unarmed black woman. Crenshaw continues to work as a freelance journalist under SCJr Content Providers. Now an author and playwright, Northrop served as executive director of the Alabama School of Fine Arts from 1997-2011, and was named BSC’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2009.

John Northrop, Jr. ’72 and Solomon Crenshaw, Jr. ’80 of Birmingham appeared on screen in “Iron Grit,” a documentary about Birmingham’s first black mayor, Richard Arrington, Jr., which premiered at Birmingham’s Sidewalk Film Festival in August. As reporters for the Birmingham Post Herald and The Birmingham News, they covered the shooting death of Bonita Carter, a 20-year-old unarmed black woman. Crenshaw continues to work as a freelance journalist under SCJr Content Providers. Now an author and playwright, Northrop served as executive director of the Alabama School of Fine Arts from 1997-2011, and was named BSC’s Distinguished Alumnus in 2009.

Dr. Duane H. Pontius ’81, the T. Morris Hackney professor of physics at BSC, has been recognized by the earth and space science world for his research on Saturn that he co-authored with recent graduates Christopher Fernandez '17 and Eli Brooks '18. Though the planet's exact rotation period has been undetermined for decades, this research may have finally unveiled Saturn's trick. Pontius has served as a BSC faculty member since 1999, and his ongoing research has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of Jupiter's magnetosphere and its interactions with Jupiter's moons.

Ken Swinney ’87 is CEO and founder of Cloud 9 Software, which provides practice management and imaging software for orthodontists, pediatric dentists, and dental specialty groups. Swinney started the Kennesaw, Georgia-based company nearly 10 years ago, and he reports that the communication and active listening techniques he learned from BSC theater professor Dr. Michael Flowers have been invaluable as an entrepreneur.

Rosalind Operton ’96 is an assistant clinical professor in the department of education at Mississippi State University – Meridian’s College Park campus. Operton has 25 years of experience in K-12 education, most recently serving as principal of Crestwood Elementary School in Meridian. She pursued her degree in education at BSC after discovering a scholarship opportunity for minority teachers.

Keelie Butler Segars ’97 was named CEO of Markstein, a Birmingham-based marketing communications firm. Segars most recently served as senior vice president of the firm, and has nearly 20 years of experience in advertising, having worked with Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits across a range of industries.

Jay de los Reyes ’01 joined McLaren Greater Lansing, a teaching hospital with 310 acute care beds in Lansing, Michigan, as chief operating officer. Reyes previously served as the CEO of Lake Huron Medical Center, which received numerous awards and designations under his leadership. Reyes has more than 10 years of experience in acute care hospital administration.

Dr. John N. Booth III ’05 presented research findings in September at the International Society of Cell & Gene Therapy North America Regional Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. Booth is an experienced epidemiologist and has held positions at the University of Chicago and UAB, where he currently serves as a principal investigator.

Candace Byrd-Vinson ’05 started as director of the Boys & Girls Club in Athens, Alabama. Byrd-Vinson taught in the Lawrence County School system for 14 years, most recently as head girls’ basketball coach at R.A. Hubbard High School.

Andrew Genova ’08 became a principal of Avison Young for the company’s Tyson’s Corner office in Washington, D.C. Genova will focus on consulting and advisory services for commercial real estate leasing and investment sales as well as managing corporate real estate portfolios for top-tier international security technology companies and government contractors. He comes to the position with 11 years of commercial real estate experience.

Kindred Motes ‘12 was recently named to the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama. He currently serves as digital strategy director for the New York-based Vera Institute of Justice’s, managing the organization’s social media, digital marketing and campaign strategies, digital partnerships, and short-form editorial content, as well as overseeing growth initiatives. He will be honored as BSC’s Outstanding Young Alumnus on October 19.

Michael P. Warsaw ’19 started as an associate at Shannon Waltchack, a Birmingham-based commercial real estate brokerage, management, and development firm. Warsaw specializes in office and industrial sales and leasing.

Dr. Scot Duncan, BSC professor of biology, has been featured in numerous articles about Alabama’s environment. Bham Now published three stories in honor of Alabama’s bicentennial that share Duncan’s expertise: the first focused on what the state looked like 200 years ago, the second on the changes that occurred in the landscape’s biodiversity, and the third on what the state will look like in 100 years. Duncan also spoke on the projected impacts of climate change at the youth climate strike rally in Linn Park on September 20.

Dr. Guy Hubbs, BSC professor emeritus and archivist for the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church, spoke at the John Henry Celebration and Leeds Fall Festival in Leeds, Alabama. The Alabama bicentennial event featured a range of musicians, activities, and historical talks. The Tuscaloosa Bicentennial Commission also chose Hubbs to compile a history of the city. The book, “Tuscaloosa: 200 Years in the Making,” is available now.

Hatton Smith, CEO emeritus of Royal Cup Co. and former BSC trustee, was honored at the Mike Slive Foundation’s Beyond Blue Gala. The fundraiser marks Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and Smith has shared his story as a survivor.

Joanie Stiff Mallet ’86 and Mark Mallet of Mobile, Ala., on June 29, 2019.

Evelyn Teague Munroe ’44 of Talladega, Ala., on Sept. 28, 2019. Monroe taught elementary school for more than 30 years for the Talladega School System. She was a member of the educational sorority Delta Kappa Gamma and of Trinity United Methodist Church.

Ann Ogletree Noble ’46 of Tallassee, Ala., on Sept. 13, 2019. Noble served as president of Kappa Delta sorority, and she taught history at Trinity Presbyterian School in Montgomery. She was a famously skilled jitterbug dancer and an active member of many clubs in Tallassee, including the Talisi Historical Preservation Society.

Mary Gene Gammon Walker ’49 of Orange Beach, Ala., on Sept. 12, 2019. Walker received her master's degree from the University of South Alabama and was a longtime resident of Orange Beach, where she taught second grade in the Baldwin County School System.

John E. Shepherd ’50 of Mobile, Ala., on Sept. 8, 2019. Shepherd served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, participating in Air Offensive Japan and witnessing the surrender of Japan to the Allies. After earning a business degree from BSC, he received his MBA from Samford University and worked as the secretary-treasurer of Southern Life and Health Insurance Company for more than 25 years.

Nancy Horsley McMahon ’65 of Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 16, 2019. McMahon obtained her master’s degree in education from Samford University and worked as a teacher and guidance counselor in the Jefferson County, Marshall County, and Huntsville school systems. She also conducted training courses in writing with the Communications Skills Company in Huntsville for 11 years and worked as a technical editor for Teledyne Brown Engineering for 17 years. McMahon was an active member of her community, and she formed a company that gave walking tours of the Twickenham District.

Richard Henry “Hank” Collins, Jr. MPPM ’86 of Vestavia Hills, Ala., on Sept. 27, 2019. Collins completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Alabama in 1960 before enlisting in the Army. He served two years at Fort Ord in California before being accepted to the Army Aviation School at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Later, he served in Germany, Vietnam, and as the operations officer at Wright Army Airfield at Fort Stewart, Georgia, receiving multiple awards in recognition of his years of service. When Collins returned to Birmingham, he spent his career in business and retired as senior vice president of SouthTrust Bank after more than 20 years. He also served on the President's Advisory Committee of Marion Military Institute, the Board of Directors of the Southern Museum of Flight, and as president of the American Cancer Society for the Shelby–Jefferson County Region. He won the Hackney Literary Award for Alabama State Story for "Faces" in 2005 and penned two books, “Eyes over the Delta” and “Looking Back.”

Gary Gardner of Huntsville, Ala., on Sept. 6, 2019. Gardner received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of St. Francis before earning his juris doctorate from Birmingham School of Law. He spent his career in international business and traveled the world as an exporter of heavy hydraulic equipment. He served as an adjunct instructor of international business at BSC and the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Mary Ruth Franklin Jeffries of Orange Park, Fla., on Aug. 30, 2019, at the age of 100. Jeffries attended both BSC and Vanderbilt University, where she met William Worthington Jeffries ’35. She graduated from Vanderbilt in 1941, and her husband was assigned to the United States Naval Academy shortly after. He was a USNA faculty member for 48 years, serving as history professor and civilian head of the department, founding director of the USNA Archives, and director of the Naval Academy Museum. Thanks largely to the efforts of Mrs. Jeffries, the William W. Jeffries Memorial Archives was dedicated at the USNA in 1991. Other family members include her daughter Trudy Jeffries Parker ’69, her son-in-law Mike Parker ’68, granddaughters Sarah Parker Scaffidi ’95 and Jennifer Parker Graul ’98, and grandson-in-law Jake Scaffidi ’96.