Faculty members, Pediatrics department honored at Argus Awards ceremony

October 31, 2016

Two faculty from The University of Alabama’s College of Community Health Sciences were honored at the annual Argus Awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 7. The awards are given by medical students to faculty and mentors for outstanding service to medical education. Dr. Heather Taylor, an associate professor ­­­in the Department of Pediatrics, received an Argus Award in the Clinical Awards category for Best Clinical Educator, and Dr. Quinton Matthews, an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and a physician with University Surgical Associates, received an award in the Excellence in Education category for Best Community-Based Physician. The Department of Pediatrics also received an Argus Award in the category of Best Clinical Department at the Tuscaloosa Campus. Other departments nominated were Obstetrics and Gynecology and Surgery. “It’s always an honor to be recognized by the students,” says Taylor. “That’s why we have the jobs that we have so that we can work with students and do something valuable that gives back to them.” Those who received nominations were: Dr. Bradley Bilton, associate professor in the Department of Surgery; Dr. Ashley Evans, associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics; and Dr. Robert Slaughter, hospitalist in the Department of Neurology. One of the College’s functions is to serve as the Tuscaloosa Regional Campus for the University of Alabama’s School of Medicine, which is headquartered in Birmingham. A cohort of third- and fourth-year medical students receive their clinical education at the College. The Argus Awards were created in 1996 to recognize faculty members and allow medical students to honor faculty and mentors for their service and dedication to medical education. Faculty are­ nominated based on their course evaluations and students vote to select winners in each category. —Kimberly Florence