Dr. John Darby ’72 retired as a Distinguished Member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, in October. Darby also worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory, two engineering consulting firms, and a commercial nuclear power plant in Ohio, where he served as Manager of Nuclear Engineering. He earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. (1976) in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. For three years, he chaired the Los Alamos Lab Reactor Safety Committee and served for 14 years (three as chair) on the committee that prepared and graded the national professional engineers’ examination (nuclear). He became a certified Java programmer in 2000 and for the last 14 years of his career developed custom software for nuclear weapons safety and security. He moved to Columbia, Mo., in 2012 and for seven years worked two jobs: as telecommuter for Sandia and as a senior technical advisor for nuclear explosives operations at the Pantex plant in Amarillo, Texas. During his 43-year career, he traveled extensively for work, taking more than 600 trips.

Dawn Urquhart Dixon ’82 of Jackson, Miss., was featured in a story on her career in music in the Jackson Free Press. Dixon founded Music Plus Studios in Birmingham, which has since expanded to three locations and employed more than 20 instructors who taught voice, guitar, drums, violin, acting, flute, and more.

DeLynn Moring Zell ’86, BSC Board of Trustees Chair, was featured in an article about women and finance on thinkadvisor.com. Zell’s firm, Bridgeworth Financial, recently opened new offices in downtown Birmingham in the old Rogers Army-Navy Store building on First Avenue North and 25^th Street.

William “Bill” Bradley, Jr. ’87 of St. Louis, Mo., will lead a newly merged marketing, communications, and customer insights team for Schnucks, a St. Louis-based supermarket chain, as its Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Bradley begins in August after nearly three decades with Anheuser-Busch, most recently as Vice President for Community Affairs. During his career at Anheuser-Busch, he led campaigns for key brands including Budweiser, Bud Light, Shock Top, and Michelob. His current board member service includes the American Red Cross Greater St. Louis Chapter, United Way of Greater St. Louis, COCA, and Guns ’N Hoses.

Anne Mitchell Whisnant ’89 is Director of the Graduate Liberal Studies master’s program at Duke University in Durham, N.C. This flexible, interdisciplinary program, founded in 1984, serves a diverse community of learners at all stages who seek to design their own master’s curriculum grounded in the liberal arts. A public historian with more than a decade of experience in university administration, Whisnant was a history major at BSC and earned her Ph.D. in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Three BSC alumni who are partners in the Birmingham office of Bradley LLP were highly ranked in the 2020 edition of Chambers USA, the prestigious, independent legal industry referral guide: Rod Kanter ’94, Dawn Sharff ’91, and Alan Zeigler ’71. Based in London, Chambers and Partners ranks leading U.S. firms and attorneys based on in-depth research and interviews with attorneys’ clients and peers.

Scott Ennis ’92, a Boca Raton, Fla., plastic surgeon, has been recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Achiever. A double board-certified specialist in endoscopic minimal-incision procedures, he completed medical school and a plastic surgery residency at UAB, where he was chief resident, and a fellowship at the University of Virginia.

Bob Parker ’94 was named the Montgomery Advertiser’s Community Hero for July. Formerly a homebuilder, Parker now owns and manages a Dreamland BBQ franchise in downtown Montgomery, and plays a quiet but deeply generous role in numerous charitable and civic activities.

Oprah Winfrey invited 100 Black fathers, including Courtney French ’95, to talk about racial injustice and its impact on themselves and their children during “OWN Spotlight: Oprah and 100 Black Fathers.” The special aired in June and can be seen on oprah.com.

Bill Smith ’96 was interviewed in June by Katie Couric on medium.com about Inseparable, an organization he co-founded with Zak Williams, son of late comedian Robin Williams, to expand mental health access. Smith is founding partner of Civitas Public Affairs Group, a public policy advocacy firm in Washington, D.C.

Sara Helms Robicheaux ’97 and Eric Housh ’98 have been named to the board of directors of America’s First Federal Credit Union. Robicheaux is B.A. Monaghan Professor of Business, Dean of Business Programs, and director of the Stump Entrepreneurship Program at BSC. She earned her master’s degree in economics and her Ph.D. in finance from the University of Alabama. A native of Pell City, Housh serves as chief marketing officer of Etix. He previously worked as manager of corporate communications with Intel Corporation and held a similar position with Dotsafe Corp. He earned his MBA from Arizona State University in 2003.

Teddy Powell ’98, incumbent District 3 Councilman on the Madison, Ala., City Council, is seeking re-election to the post. He works for the U.S. Department of Defense as a budget analyst, and holds an MBA from the University of Alabama at Huntsville. The election is August 24.

Glenny Brock ’99 of Birmingham was awarded a literary arts fellowship from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Fellowships are given to individuals working in arts education, dance, design, media/photography, music, literature, theatre, and visual arts and crafts. These awards recognize artistic excellence as well as professional commitment and maturity. Recipients may use funds to set aside time to create art, improve their skills, pursue professional development, or to do what is most advantageous to enhance their artistic careers. Brock serves as outreach coordinator for Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. and teaches writing at BSC. Brock has a background in journalism, previously serving as editor in chief at Birmingham Weekly and Weld for Birmingham, which she co-founded. She received an MFA in creative writing from Spalding University with an emphasis on creative non-fiction.

Nick Dumas ’99 is seeking election to the Cullman City School Board. He currently manages the family business, Smith Farms, in Cullman and, with his wife, Myra, has three children in Cullman City Schools. Dumas served for seven years as an assistant baseball coach at BSC and UAB, then was a teacher and head baseball coach in the Duval County School System in Jacksonville, Fla. He also was an assistant campus director at Georgia Military College. The election is August 24.

Prim Formby Escalona ’01 has been appointed as Interim U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama. For the past two years, Escalona has served in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legislative Affairs as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, where she managed an expansive legislative portfolio and helped establish and manage a new Department component, the State and Local Law Enforcement Coordination Section. She also served in the Department’s Office of Legal Policy as a Deputy Assistant Attorney General, where she developed and reviewed policy initiatives for the Attorney General. Prior to her tenure at the Department of Justice, Escalona was an associate at Maynard, Cooper & Gale, a visiting assistant professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, a Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Alabama, and a law clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Montgomery. She earned her law degree at the University of Alabama.

Shelley Smith ’02, Planning Commissioner and Director of Downtown Initiatives for Tullahoma, Tenn., has been appointed to the National Board of Directors for Preservation Action, the national grassroots lobby for historic preservation. In her role with the city of Tullahoma, she specializes in real estate development, historic preservation, neighborhood revitalization, and public-private partnerships. She holds a master’s degree in historic preservation from the Savannah College of Art and Design, a certificate in urbanism from the University of Miami’s School of Architecture, as well as a second master’s degree in real estate development from Clemson University as the inaugural Faison Fellow. She is the recipient of the Norman F. Pulliam Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in pursuing quality development that integrates the perspectives of community, environment, and economics. She also serves as Executive Director of Community Development and Extended Services for Motlow State Community College.

Lauren Kilgore ’05 was named by Billboard as one of the Top Music Lawyers of 2020 for her work in the entertainment industry. Kilgore is a partner with Shackelford Bowen McKinley & Norton LLP in Nashville, Tennessee.

Casey Daniel ’07 has been named Director of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of South Alabama, where she works on strategies to prevent and control cancer. Daniel holds a master's degree in public health and a Ph.D. from UAB, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health and at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Her research focuses on cancer prevention, early detection, and survivorship with emphases on pediatric, colorectal, and skin cancers.

Dr. Eileen Dyer Jarnholt ’08 defended her doctoral dissertation in International Development Studies entitled ''Contract farming schemes in rice and sugar in Tanzania: Assessing the implications of exchange, power and differentiation." Jarnholt was awarded a double-degree Ph.D. from both Roskilde University in Denmark and Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

Hunter Renfroe ’08 was interviewed by Authority Magazine on medium.com about how his business plans to rebuild in the post-COVID economy, and how his BSC education shapes his work. Renfroe and John Boone ’06 are principals and co-founders of Orchestra Partners, which has completed more than $40 million of real estate development projects with $150 million under development in key neighborhoods that make up the fastest growing areas of downtown Birmingham.

Xinyan Yan ’10, assistant professor of finance at the University of Dayton, has published a paper in the Review of Financial Studies. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, and focuses her research on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, and real estate.

Tyler Byrd ’11 has joined the Cullman Regional Medical Group, specializing in adolescent and adult psychiatry. A native of Oneonta, he received his medical degree from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Miss. After medical school, he completed his general psychiatry residency at UAB. While in residency, Byrd has volunteered his time completing mental health evaluations at the Cullman County Jail and has been working with Cullman Regional to develop care protocols for emergency department patients with acute mental health issues.

Jay Dunn ’12 and Samantha Dubrinsky ’13 were both highlighted in a post on Comeback Town focused on “Birmingham’s Bright Young Future.” Dunn holds an MBA from Georgetown University and recently moved back to Birmingham after seven years in Washington, D.C., on the staff of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) and on the Senate Banking Committee. He is now with Regions. His mother, Elizabeth McDonald Dunn, is a BSC trustee, and his brother, Cole Dunn ’16, is also a BSC graduate. Dubrinsky is executive director of Levite Jewish Community Center. She holds a master’s in public administration and an MBA from Troy University.

Rebecca Martin Dugal ’13 has been named artistic program director and a company dancer for the Savannah Ballet Theater. A dance major at BSC, she performed professionally with the Birmingham Ballet, Contemporary South Dance Company, and the Montgomery Ballet in Alabama before returning to her hometown to assume her roles with the SBT.

The Birmingham Business Journal’s Most Influential Executives list named seven BSC graduates. Congratulations to David Fleming MPPM ’02, president and CEO of REV Birmingham; Herschell Hamilton MPPM ’96, co-founder and chief strategy officer for BLOC Global Group; Wayne Hutchens MPPM ’89, president of AT&T Alabama; Dr. Bruce Irwin ’72, founder and CEO of American Family Care; Craft O’Neal ’84, chair and CEO of O’Neal Industries; Elizabeth Featheringill Pharo ’00, managing partner at Featheringill Capital; and Dawn Sharff ’91, managing partner of the Birmingham office of Bradley LLP.

Dudley Jean Dovel Shearburn ’51 of St. Louis, Mo., on June 12, 2020. Raised by a single mother, Shearburn and her sister Alice Marie Strong enjoyed simple pleasures in Depression-era Alabama, nurtured by a network of loving aunts, uncles, and extended family, including her paternal grandfather, James Pickering Dovel, a Renaissance man, self-taught engineer, and inventor who revolutionized industrial iron processes while Chief Engineer at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham. Shearburn graduated from BSC and established a lifelong sisterhood as a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. In 1951 she married Everett Brice Shearburn, Jr., moving from her beloved Alabama to Missouri and later to North Carolina. Following her divorce from Everett in 1967, she raised seven children as a single mother while returning to graduate school at St. Louis University, working full-time as she pursued master’s and doctoral degrees. She provided for her peers, students, and legions of friends a view of life without limits: she knew the value of friends and learning, and she was a critical thinker who developed innovative curricula and novel teaching outcomes at Special School District in St. Louis. In 1977 she joined the faculty at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C. and retired in 1998. At Salem she taught special education, directed the Orton Reading Center, developed women’s studies, and pioneered a program of teaching adult women returning to complete a college degree. She was known all over Winston-Salem for her lively book discussion groups, which met in her home for good books, good talk, and good wine. Evenings in her stylish loft in Albert Hall were equal to college courses: they read the classics, and she was unsparing in asking that the club members come prepared to answer difficult questions.

Donald Grady Shockley ’59 of Decatur, Ga., on June 8, 2020. A Birmingham native, he married his elementary school sweetheart, Mary Jim Lyons ’59, during their senior year at BSC. She pre-deceased him in 2014 after 55 years of marriage. Shockley spent his career in the United Methodist Church, including chaplaincies at BSC, the University of Redlands, and Emory University. He authored several books including Private Prayers in Public Places: The Notebook of an Urban Pilgrim, a culmination of his lifelong passion for finding the spiritual in everyday experiences.

Mary Elizabeth Johnson Wise ’60 of Huntsville on June 28, 2020. A native of Birmingham, Wise and her sisters, Margaret, Anna, and Judy, were known as the Johnson Sisters, traveling with Wally Fowler, a Southern Gospel musician and promoter. In the mid-1950s they recorded a 45-rpm record with Chet Atkins playing guitar. Happy Hal Burns, a Birmingham TV personality, made them regular guests on his television show. Around 1952, the sisters recorded their first album titled “The Johnson Sisters, Sweethearts of Gospel Music.” During the mid 1960s, the sisters became a part of the syndicated TV show, The Gospel Singing Caravan. They also did studio backup, including on one of Willie Nelson’s recordings. Wise graduated from Hueytown High School, BSC, Calhoun Community College, The University of Alabama, and Vanderbilt. Mary served in many capacities in the mental health system in Alabama, and with her husband, Dr. Robert Wise, was a longtime resident of Huntsville.

Elise McWilliams Penfield ’61 of Birmingham on July 1, 2020. Penfield had a distinguished professional career that included being an instructor and director of children’s theater, a public school teacher, a producer of instructional television programs, founder and director of Birmingham's Meals-On-Wheels, Executive Director of the Birmingham Partnership Assistance to the Homeless, and Executive Director of Leadership Birmingham. She also taught at the University of Alabama and BSC. Of the awards she received, she was proudest of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Birmingham-Southern College and the Brotherhood and Sisterhood Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice. Penfield worked to advance justice and equality through her service on the board of directors of the National Council of Churches and as vice president of the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns of the United Methodist Church. She also loved her time teaching children as a docent at the Birmingham Museum of Art. She received her master’s degree in speech arts from the University of Alabama her master’s in education from UAB. She loved time with her family, the Speech Arts Club, traveling, cooking, entertaining, theater, poetry, and her church. She also loved living on BSC’s campus. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Irvin Penfield, who served on the BSC faculty for 37 years, including 18 as Dean of the College and Provost, and her sister Betty Jo Harmon ’49. She is survived by her sons, Russell Penfield and Matthew Penfield ’92, their wives, Jennifer and Emily, and her grandchildren, Caroline, Eliza, and Thomas Henry.

Lucy McCombs Rose ’62 of Cahaba Heights on July 8, 2020. After earning a degree in chemistry at BSC, Rose received a master’s degree in science education from UAB in 1986. She was employed by Southern Research Institute for 36 years as a research chemist. She had a passion for literacy, that led her to volunteer for the Library in the Forest in Vestavia Hills. She is survived by her husband, Jeremy Douglas Rose ’64, three children, and three grandchildren.

William Cary DeLoach, Jr., ’64 of Naples, Fla., on March 20, 2020. DeLoach was a two-time cancer survivor, beating the odds of esophageal cancer in 2001. An avid music lover, he is remembered for his beautiful voice. He spent summers in Connecticut near his daughter and grandchildren, but resided in Florida, enjoying the sunny weather and beautiful sunsets with his wife by his side. A Mobile native, he had a successful career in the insurance industry, including 25 loyal years at Travelers Insurance Company.

Claude McCain “Mac” Moncus ’64 of Birmingham on July 15, 2020. He graduated from Indian Springs School, BSC, and The University of Alabama School of Law, and was a founding partner of the Corley Moncus law firm. He chaired the board of the St. Vincent's Foundation, and was a member of The Country Club of Birmingham and Monday Morning Quarterback Club.

Aubrey Allen “Buddy” Ramsey ’64 of Birmingham on July 25, 2020. A lifelong resident of Alabama, he served in the Alabama Air National Guard during the Berlin Crisis. While putting himself through Birmingham School of Law, he worked at Alabama Power and Southern Company Services. He practiced law from 1971-2018. Ramsey served on the Irondale City Council for one term and as mayor of Irondale for eight years. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Trina Nannie Ramsey ’64, his daughter, Terilane Ramsey ’88, sons Timothy Allen and Christopher Trent ’96, and three grandchildren, including Aubrey Allen Ramsey II, a fall 2020 first-year student at BSC.

Wallace Dale Lovett ’65 of Loveland, Colo., on June 27, 2020. After graduating from BSC, Lovett received his Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University, then served his first congregation in Boulder, Colo. He earned his Clinical Pastoral Education certification at Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan and served Boulder Community Health as a chaplain for many years. After a practice of psychotherapy, he returned to serving United Methodist churches in Brighton and Cedaredge, Colo., and Pine Bluffs, Wyo. He found great enjoyment in hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park along with collecting and reading books.

Pamela Ann Horton Ryals ’65 of Bowling Green, Ky., on June 2, 2020. The Oneonta native was a member of Pi Beta Phi and is remembered for her passion for peace and justice. She is survived by four children and 21 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Paul Thomas “Tom” Miller ’66 of Nashville on July 13, after a long struggle with leukemia. Born in Atlanta and raised in Dothan, Miller earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 1971 and accepted a professorship Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, Tenn. He retired as Dean of Mathematics and Science in 2008. Though first and foremost an academic scientist, he also studied voice, possessing a beautiful strong baritone like his grandfather, and performed at various venues and for family and friends for years.

Martha Jane Patton ’68 of Birmingham on July 27, 2020. Patton was raised in Decatur, Ala., where she served as editor of the Decatur High School newspaper and wrote editorials critical of segregation. She attended BSC on a scholarship from the National Council of Teachers of English. In 1971, she moved to Tuscaloosa as a coordinator for the Selma Inter-Religious Project, which sought to create economic opportunity for Black men and women in Alabama’s Black Belt counties. From there, Patton helped form a chapter of the Women’s Political Caucus. Patton was encouraged to pursue a law degree by Marjorie Fine Knowles, the first female professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, and Annette Dodd of Cumberland School of Law, where she graduated in 1978. She practiced with Birmingham firms and solo before becoming executive director of the Legal Aid Society in 1998, serving until her retirement in 2016. In 2006, Patton received BSC’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Doris Duke Wood ’93 of Trussville on July 22, 2020. A respected marriage and family counselor, author and artist, Wood earned her doctorate in counselor education from the University of Alabama after a first career as a contract administrator for the U.S. Department of Defense. Always active in church work, Doris was a ladies’ Bible class teacher and occasionally spoke at Ladies’ Day events at churches.

Charles Richard “Rick” Watson MPPM ’97 of Empire, Ala., on July 16, 2020. A native of Dora and a U.S. Army veteran, he retired from AT&T after 33 years, and also served as an adjunct professor of computer science and business at Bevill State Community College. Watson is best remembered as a musician, having written and performed with his wife, Jilda, at coffeehouses and festivals around the South, and as a writer whose stories and columns ran in the Daily Mountain Eagle (Jasper), 280 Living, the Tannehill Trader, and 78 Magazine. He published two books: “Remembering Big: Ponderings and Reflections of a Sloss Holler Scholar” (2008) and “Life Happens” (2012).

Two of BSC’s most steadfast supporters passed away within two weeks of one another in July 2020: Former trustee and board chair Herb Sklenar, 89, and Ellie Sklenar, 88. Mrs. Sklenar died on July 2, 2020, and Mr. Sklenar died on July 23, after 63 years of marriage. In 2009, the College named its international programs office for the Sklenars in honor of their contributions. For the full story, click here.