I would like to note the passing on January 16 of Charles A. "Scotty" McCallum, Jr., dentist, physician, UAB's third President from April 1987 until September 1993, two-term Mayor of Vestavia Hills and much more at UAB: professor, vice president for health affairs, dean of the School of Dentistry, and chair of the Department of Oral Surgery. But wait--there's more! See the plaque below.
For more details on his remarkable life and career, see his entry at the Alabama Academy of Honor and the extensive obituary at AL.com The UAB Archives also has some material about him.
I had two minor encounters with Dr. McCallum in the late 1980's that were helpful to me and indicated the scholar and gentleman he was. When I first started researching the life and career of Alice McNeal, MD, the first Chair of UAB's Department of Anesthesiology, Dr. McCallum took the time to meet with me and let me pick his brain about her years in the School of Medicine. He didn't know her that well, but gave me some details and names of others to contact.
In 1988 I served as Vice-President of the Alabama Health Libraries Association and was responsible for organizing the annual meeting to be held in Birmingham. Dr. McCallum graciously agreed to be the luncheon guest speaker and regaled us with a talk on the remarkable history and growth of UAB. I remember vividly that he noted the university then occupied 84 [or close to that!] blocks in the city. I wonder what the number is now?
RIP, Dr. McCallum....
