fall 2013 / 5
COMMUNITY NEWS
Four named to Birmingham-Southern Board of Trustees
Birmingham-Southern College has selected four members for its Board of Trustees.
The new BSC trustees are Brooke Tanner Battle ’96, founder of SMART Party LLC; Shane Boatright,
president and CEO of Boatright Companies Inc.; Dr. Samuel E. Gray ’82, obstetrician and gynecologist
at Alabama Women’s Specialists; and Scott Selman, chief financial officer of the North Alabama
Conference of the United Methodist Church.
The selections were approved in June at the annual meetings of the North Alabama and Alabama-
West Florida Conferences of the UMC.
Battle
Boatright
Gray
Selman
BSC partnering with
Project SEARCH to
improve employment
outcomes for the
disabled
Along with incoming BSC students,
there are a few more new faces on
campus this fall. This semester,
Birmingham-Southern began providing
on-the-job training and work experience
to young adults with intellectual and
physical disabilities through Project
SEARCH, a collaborative effort between the college, United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, Birmingham
City Schools, and Alabama Vocational Rehab.
The one-year transition program teaches participants (called interns) workplace skills that can lead to
employment within the community. The interns are working Monday through Friday in multiple departments
across campus, practicing repetitive and systematic job skills while learning to communicate effectively with
members of the BSC community.
“Many new graduates often say ‘I want to get a job, but I don’t have the required experience,’ and it is difficult to
find an employer willing to provide on-the-job training,” said Angela Harrill, associate director of human resources
at Birmingham-Southern. “We’re thrilled to offer this service.”
There are 10 interns assigned to BSC’s Project SEARCH class of 2013. They are students who, because of their
special needs, may remain in the K-12 school system up to age 21.
The interns have a Project SEARCH teacher and job coach to support their training. They also get continual
feedback and end their day by reflection, problem-solving, and journaling what they’ve learned. A formal
graduation ceremony will be held for the interns in May.
Project SEARCH was formed in 1996 by Nurse J. Erin Riehle, then the director of the Emergency Department at
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. This is the organization’s first step in the development of a pilot
program to provide “on-campus classrooms.” BSC is the first college or university in Alabama to partner with
Project SEARCH in this effort.
