UAB Briefs: Prize-winning pianist, celebrating diversity, honoring Dr. Diethelm
In this weekly online feature, we keep track of interesting people and events on campus at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
We also provide updates regarding UAB’s efforts to cope with the COVID-19.
Let us know about people, events and programs on campus that deserve a mention in UAB Briefs. Email jchambers@starnespublishing.com.
And remember that the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Continue to follow all of the usual protocols and stay safe.
KEYBOARD ARTIST
UAB student Dina Kasman won first prize at the Gulf Coast Steinway Society Piano Competition on Jan. 23 in Mobile, according to UAB News. Students from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi took part in the regional event.
Kasman played works by Bach, Beethoven and Rachmaninoff and won top honors in the Upper College Solo division.
One year ago, Kasman won the same competition in the College Piano Concerto division.
A junior music major in the Department of Music, Kasman is also part of the University Honors Program at UAB Honors College.
She is a student of her father, Yakov Kasman, who is an artist-in-residence and Distinguished Professor of Piano at UAB.
However, the younger Kasman is also a teacher. At the same competition in Mobile where she won the Upper College Solo division, one of her students won second place in the High School Solo division.
The Gulf Coast Steinway Society is a nonprofit formed to promote fine music through education and performance.
CELEBRATE DIVERSITY
The UAB Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is hosting the fifth annual Community Month through Feb. 18. Community Month is a celebration of the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
There are sports, cooking classes, panel discussions and other events hosted by various schools and departments. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many of the events this year are virtual.
Among the highlights is a game between UAB Women's Basketball and Louisiana Tech at Bartow Arena on Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. Dubbed “the Pink Game,” the event will raise awareness of cancer and efforts to fight it.
The Blazer Kitchen Virtual Tour & The Garden, a virtual event, will be held Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. Participants will learn about the mission of the facility, opportunities for service learning and internships, how to access food and referrals, and how to help the kitchen..
To see a complete list of events and activities, click here.
PIONEERING UAB SURGEON
Arnold G. Diethelm, former chair of the UAB Department of Surgery and a leader in transplantation surgery, died Jan. 28, according to UAB News.
A Baltimore native, Diethelm began work at UAB in 1967 after completing a fellowship at Harvard and helped build a nationally recognized transplantation program from the ground up.
Milestones for the transplantation program at the university included the first kidney transplant in Alabama in 1968, the first heart transplant in the Southeast in 1981 and the first liver transplant in Alabama in 1983.
Diethelm served as the chair of the UAB Department of Surgery from 1982-1999, a time period when the department became one of top five institutions in the country for funding from the federal National Institutes of Health. Under his leadership, UAB’s renal transplant program also became one of the largest in America.
Diethelm was the author or co-author of more than 210 publications, a member of 26 surgical societies and the recipient of numerous awards and other recognitions.
“Dr. Diethelm was a pioneer and leader of transplantation at UAB and across the nation,” said Dr. Jayme Locke, director of the UAB Division of Transplant and Comprehensive Transplant Institute. “But, to those around him, he was known more for his humility and kindness. He was always quick to give credit to his team before himself.”
Memorials to his life and work can be directed to the UAB transplant fund or to the UAB Comprehensive Transplant Institute.