UAB Synopsis, Vol. 28, No. 34, September 14, 2009
On September 25 the UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) and sponsor BBVA Compass will present its annual gala, featuring literary icon Maya Angelou. The fifth annual black tie MHRC Gala will be held at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center.
Prior to Angelou’s performance, NBA Hall of Fame basketball star and honorary gala chair Charles Barkley will host a reception at 5:30 pm. The seated dinner and performance will begin at 7:30 pm.
For ticket information for “An Evening with Maya Angelou” and the Barkley reception call 205.975.5659 or visit www.uabmhrc.com/gala.
Angelou is Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She has received multiple Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominations for her books.
Her reading of her poem, “On the Pulse of Morning,” at the presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993 earned her a Grammy award.
Barkley, a Leeds native, champions the MHRC mission and hosts its annual galas. The Charles Barkley Health Disparities Fund administers financial support to UAB faculty for research in health disparities among other activities.
Following Angelou’s performance, he will announce the winners of the 2009 Charles Barkley Health Disparities Research Award for young investigators.
The funds raised through the MHRC Annual Gala are reinvested in the community through programs such as Building Healthy communities, Healthy Happy Kids, and WALK...FEEL ALIVE.