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| Beth Thomas, far left, external affairs manager at Alabama Power, and Patrick Murphy, vice president of Alabama Power's Mobile division, second from right, presents a check to USA representatives to support the Whiddon College of Medicine. |
Patrick Murphy, vice president of Alabama Power’s Mobile division, and Beth Thomas, external affairs manager, recently presented a check for $500,000 to USA President Jo Bonner and John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the Whiddon College of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs.
“Alabama Power and its foundation have been strong and steadfast supporters of our Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine and the University of South Alabama,” Bonner said. “Countless students – and through their education, generations of Alabamians – will benefit from the foundation’s gifts. We extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for the generous support for this new building and our programs.”
The Alabama Power Foundation’s latest donation – which will name the dean’s suite in the medical school’s new building – brings the foundation’s total contributions to USA to more than $2.6 million.
“We are deeply grateful to the Alabama Power Foundation for their generous support of the Whiddon College of Medicine,” Marymont said. “This donation demonstrates that the foundation understands the value the medical school brings to the Mobile community and the state of Alabama. It is not only an investment in a new facility for our students, faculty and researchers; it’s also an investment in the future of healthcare to meet the needs of Alabamians.”
USA broke ground last December on a new 250,000-square-foot building that will allow the University to graduate more physicians and accelerate research and innovation. The facility will provide state-of-the-art laboratory spaces that will create flexibility and efficiency for research today and in the future. It will also allow for expanding the class size of first-year medical students from 80 to 100, with the capability of increasing to 120 students in the future, as the nation faces a projected shortage of healthcare providers.
The $200 million facility will round out a medical education hub on campus that includes the College of Nursing, the Pat Capps Covey College of Allied Health Professions, the Health Simulation Building, and the Charles M. Baugh Biomedical Library. When the new building opens, more than 500,000 square feet of campus facilities will be dedicated to healthcare education and research.
The Whiddon College of Medicine is one of 158 accredited M.D.-granting institutions in the United States, and one of only two in the state. More than 1,139 of its graduates are practicing medicine in Alabama. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Whiddon College of Medicine consistently ranks in the top tier nationally for graduates practicing in underserved areas.
