Calhoun becomes 1st president of new UAB board

Birmingham businessman Wes Calhoun is, without a doubt, a huge UAB booster. The Redmont Park resident described the university as the “heartbeat of Birmingham.”

A 1986 UAB graduate, Calhoun is now putting his love of his alma mater to good use, serving as the first president of the new Alumni Board of the College of Arts and Sciences.  

He said he believes his new position gives him a great opportunity to help the university, because the College of Arts and Sciences encompasses 19 diverse academic departments and has more than 30,000 alumni.

“It’s the largest alumni group at UAB,” Calhoun said. “Seeing there’s never been an alumni board, it will be exciting to reach out and bring them back into the fold.”

The Alumni Board plans to host numerous events on and off campus in 2017 to entice alumni to reconnect with the university and see what’s new on the rapidly growing campus, according to Calhoun, who earned a degree in criminal justice and minored in art. 

“Coming back to campus allows them to see the transformation for themselves and will hopefully reinvigorate their institutional pride,” Calhoun said.

He runs his own advertising agency, Calhoun Communications, and is also president of Shoe Corporation, his family’s business.