2022-2023 Cohort of Graduate Students Represents the Largest Class in Organizational History

Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama 
P.O. Box 660412 
Birmingham, AL 35266 
(205) 202-0695 
asfalabama.org 

CONTACT 
Tiffany S. Adams
Development Manager
development@asfalabama.org
(205) 913.7493 

Birmingham, AL — March 18, 2022 — The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama (ASF) announced today the selection of its 2022-23 class of Alabama Schweitzer Fellows. This class of 20 graduate students represents the largest cohort to date for the six-year-old local fellowship serving the state of Alabama. Representing Auburn University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) schools of dentistry, health professions, medicine, nursing and public health, this year’s cohort of fellows will spend the next 13 months immersed in community public health projects. Their projects will improve the health and social well-being of their populations of choice throughout the state while simultaneously strengthening their leadership skills. In doing so, they will continue the legacy of the Fellowship’s namesake, the famed physician-humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer. 

“The selection of new Fellows each year is always a highlight, but this year held special significance due to the over 40 percent growth in the size of our 2022-23 cohort,” said Kristin Boggs, Executive Director of ASF of Alabama. “As vulnerable populations in our communities face significant obstacles to health and improved quality of life, it is encouraging to see more students rise to the challenge of tackling these issues head-on. We are excited to come alongside these students, along with our academic and community-site partners, to channel their ideals and grow their commitment to using their knowledge to affect change for under-resourced communities.”

Since 2015, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama has forged many beneficial academic partnerships representing a number of graduate schools and universities throughout the state. The most recent addition to the Fellowship’s consortium of universities is Auburn University, which has five graduate students represented in the 2022-23 class. “We are thrilled to be a partner with the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, which has a strong track record for developing leaders in health professions with a demonstrated commitment to vulnerable populations in our state,” said Dr. Hollie C. Cost, Assistant Vice President of University Outreach and Public Service for Auburn. “We share ASF’s commitment to meeting the current and future needs of underserved communities through the training of the next generation of medical professionals. We are particularly excited about the unique opportunity this provides our graduate students to develop and implement field-based projects that positively impact these Alabama populations, perpetuating AU Outreach’s commitment to equity.”

The UAB School of Public Health has had a longstanding relationship with ASF and this year has two graduate students among the 2022-23 cohort. “Beginning with the inaugural class of Alabama Schweitzer Fellows, and every year since, our students have been represented among those chosen for this prestigious program,” said Dr. Paul C. Erwin, Dean of the UAB School of Public Health. “We value these types of interdisciplinary service-learning opportunities that expose our students to the critical health needs affecting our state but also provide creative outlets for them to develop and implement programs to address these needs. More importantly, experiences such as this Fellowship help frame our students’ mindsets so they go into their future professions with a commitment to be change agents who work for the greater good of the underserved.”

Schweitzer Fellowships have an intensive leadership component so that Fellows can continue to inspire others to improve the health of those who experience barriers to care beyond their year of service. ASF Fellows work closely under the guidance of community site partners  and academic mentors throughout the project period. ASF of Alabama will announce in May 2022 the specific projects and community site partners of the newest class of Fellows. 

“Every year, ASF seeks to select students who possess not only ideas but ideals,” said Boggs. “Our Advisory Council was blown away by the level of self-awareness in the 2023 cohort. These students have found topics which are not only indicative of inequities in our communities but also reflective of their personal experiences. We trust that the passion each brings to their project will create many opportunities for them to learn and grow as leaders while simultaneously improving life for others.” 

It is anticipated that the 20 Alabama Schweitzer Fellows will be joined by approximately 200 other 2022-23 Schweitzer Fellows working at program sites across the United States in early spring. Upon completion of their Fellowship year, the 2022-23 Schweitzer Fellows will become Schweitzer Fellows for Life, joining an active network of Schweitzer alumni continuing their commitment to improving the public health of underserved communities throughout their careers. 

2022-23 Alabama Schweitzer Fellows

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About The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama 

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) of Alabama is preparing the next generation of professionals to serve and empower vulnerable people to live healthier lives and create healthier communities in Alabama. ASF of Alabama began in 2015 as a local chapter of the national nonprofit and has been training servant leaders in healthcare for more than six years. The Alabama Fellowship has mentored 92 students who have provided approximately 18,000 hours of service at a value of more than $400,000 to Alabama’s most vulnerable groups in partnership with over 50 community organizations. Nationally, more than 4,000 U.S Schweitzer Fellows have delivered nearly 750,000 hours of service to individuals and communities in need. Additionally, over 100 Lambaréné Schweitzer Fellows have served in Africa at the Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon. Through this work and through the ongoing contributions of the more than 4,000 program alumni who continue as Schweitzer “Fellows for Life,” ASF perpetuates the legacy and philosophy of physician-humanitarian and Nobel Peace laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer. ASF currently has 13 active program locations in the U.S. The national nonprofit is located in Boston, MA.