Dr. Wayne Worden Killion, Jr. MPPM ’72 passed away on December 12. Dr. Killion was a key figure in the history of Birmingham-Southern, as a graduate, benefactor, and trustee of the school. In celebration of his legacy, the College recently honored him with a resolution, recognizing him for his wise counsel and visionary leadership. His generous heart and servant leadership will be greatly missed. Read his obituary here.

RESOLUTION

Expressing Appreciation to Dr. Wayne Worden Killion, Jr., for His Service to Birmingham-Southern College

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of Birmingham-Southern College wishes to recognize Wayne Worden Killion, Jr., for his long record of distinguished service to the College; and

WHEREAS, as an alumnus and a former Trustee, Dr. Killion has brought honor and distinction to the College through his personal and professional accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, Wayne Worden Killion, Jr., was born in Birmingham on July 19, 1950, to Wayne Worden Killion and Christine Cooper Killion, and after graduating from Indian Springs School in 1968, enrolled at Birmingham-Southern College, where he majored in biology, was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa; and

WHEREAS, after graduation in 1972, he attended what is now the UAB School of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1975, and then completed his internship year at the University of Louisville and an internal medicine residency at the University of South Alabama Medical Center before returning to Birmingham, where he entered private practice; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Killion returned to BSC to earn a Master’s Degree in Public and Private Management with a focus on health care management, graduating in 1996; and

WHEREAS, after serving as Vice President for Medical Affairs at St. Vincent’s Hospital from 1995-2000, he left the practice of medicine to become President and Chief Executive Officer of Shook & Fletcher Insulation Company, which his father and five partners had purchased in 1967 and where his father had served as Vice President of Finance, then President, and finally Chairman of the Board before his retirement in 2002; and

WHEREAS, since then, the company has been family-owned, and has long been a leading distributor of commercial and industrial insulation across the Southeast; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Killion retired from Shook & Fletcher in 2020 after 20 years of dedicated leadership; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Killion joined the Board of Trustees of Birmingham-Southern College in 2000 and served through 2016, serving for three years as the board’s chair and providing wise counsel and steady leadership through some of the College’s most challenging years; and

WHEREAS, the challenges of those years were sufficient to require the board to empower a small group of trustees to work in close collaboration with the interim president’s team to make unprecedented changes in the College’s operations to chart a pathway forward; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Killion’s visionary leadership, personal charisma, and conciliatory tone as the Board’s chair during such a pivotal time enabled the College to weather that storm and to set a new course, including the selection of General Charles C. Krulak as its 13th president, a decision that led to enrollment growth, faculty and staff cohesion, and an enhanced relationship between town and gown; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Killion and his wife, Sandra Reever Killion, were married on June 25, 1976, and Mrs. Killion now serves as Chief Executive Officer and Principal of Vulcan Industrial Contractors after a career that began in nursing before transitioning into non-profit leadership, including service as interim director of Children Can Soar, Director of the Nonprofit Resource Center of Alabama, and as Vice President for Grants and Initiatives for the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham; and

WHEREAS, the Killions, who are faithful members of Canterbury United Methodist Church, have served the Birmingham community in numerous ways, including as graduates of Leadership Birmingham, members of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, and as board members of a wide range of agencies and organizations, as well as Mrs. Killion’s role as president of the Junior League of Birmingham in 1994-1995; and

WHEREAS, the couple’s greatest joys are found in their children – Wayne Worden Killion III and his wife Jennifer; Charles David Killion and his wife Katy; and Cooper Reever Killion, who graduated from the College in 2008, and his wife Ashley – and their five grandchildren, Anna, Joseph, Caroline, Clayton and Christine; and

WHEREAS, the Killion family has a long history of generosity to the College dating to 1981, with significant contributions to the annual fund, named scholarships and in the College endowment, capital projects, athletics, and numerous other programs that enrich the student experience; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees wishes to recognize this generous alumnus and his wife as beloved members of the campus family and to formally recognize his dedicated service to the College;

NOW BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of Birmingham-Southern College hereby expresses its deepest gratitude for the life, work, and service of Wayne Worden Killion, Jr.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution will be entered into the official minutes of the Board of Trustees of Birmingham-Southern College and shared with Dr. and Mrs. Killion and their family.