UAB has countless incredible Black alumni. Here are some Blazer grads from each of our schools to show that there is no shortage of talent in any discipline at our school.
College of Arts and Sciences
Ashley M. Jones graduated from UAB in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in English. Jones currently holds the prestigious position of Poet Laureate of Alabama, a role she has occupied since 2021 and will continue to occupy until her term expires in 2026. She has also earned numerous awards, including the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Prize for Poetry, the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award and the Silver Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
School of Business
Derrick Miles received his master’s in business administration from UAB in 1999 and a master’s in healthcare administration only a year later. He is now the founder and CEO of CourMed, a startup that delivers healthcare items directly to patients’ homes. Miles also started the TMB Equity Partners Endowed Scholarship in Health Administration, a fund for students participating in UAB’s MSHA program.
School of Education
Eddie Sharpe graduated from UAB with a master’s degree in community counseling. In 2015, he co-founded Restoring Hopes, a clinic dedicated to providing low-cost mental health support in homes, schools and juvenile detention centers in the Birmingham area. He is also a leader in Brother Let’s Talk, an organization focused on destigmatizing the discussion of mental health among black men in Birmingham.
School of Engineering
Mark Berry earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1997, his master’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2000, and his doctorate in interdisciplinary engineering in 2012 — all from UAB. He served as director of energy and environment at Southern Research before being tapped by the Electric Power Research Institute to manage research and development in their generation sector. He is now the vice president of research and development at Southern Company. He has received multiple awards over his career for his work in the utility industry.
School of Health Professions
Tiffany Chaney received a bachelor’s degree in finance from UAB in 2000 and stayed to earn a master’s in business administration in 2002 as well as a master’s in healthcare administration in 2003. She is currently the chief diversity officer at Baptist Health, a healthcare system that has been instrumental in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines — among other healthcare services — in the Montgomery area.
School of Nursing
Dr. Lindsey Harris graduated from UAB with a master’s degree in nursing in 2011 and returned to get a doctorate in nursing practice in 2016. She is the first ever African American president of the Alabama State Nurses Association and is a recipient of the UAB School of Nursing’s Visionary Leader award. She currently serves as nurse practitioner on the Inpatient Diabetes and Glycemic Management Program at UAB Hospital.
School of Public Health
Dr. Sherilyn Duckworth earned her master’s in public health with a concentration in health care organization and policy at UAB. On top of her work on public health concerns — including COVID-19, infant mortality and hypertension — she is also founder and executive director of A Friend of Mind, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing mental health services to families with struggling adolescents in underserved communities. She was awarded the Rising Star award from UAB Student Involvement and Leadership.
