Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2000-10-27

Birmingham community leaders Dr. George F. and Patricia Trent Scofield have been named Alumni of the Year at Samford University.

The couple, both members of the Samford Class of 1949, will be recognized during Samford Homecoming activity Saturday, Nov. 4. They are the first married couple to receive the Samford alumni honor in the same year.

Dr. Scofield is a Birmingham pathologist and Mrs. Scofield is a former teacher who is a leader in numerous cultural activities.

The Scofields have served as class representatives on the Samford Alumni Council since 1993. They encourage their class in areas of alumni giving, involvement, participation in recruiting and career development networking. In 1999, they organized and hosted the Class of 1949 golden anniversary Homecoming reunion.

"The Scofields are models of what the Bible calls 'cheerful givers,'" said Samford President Dr. Thomas E. Corts. "They have been so generous with Samford on a consistent basis, always grateful for what the institution meant in the past, and its significance for future generations. I am confident that they genuinely enjoy their gifts to Samford, and believe they will be among their soundest investments."

The couple has established the Earl and Marie Trent Music Scholarship Fund honoring Mrs. Scofield's late parents.

Mrs. Scofield has been a member of Samford's music scholarship endowment committee since its founding in 1994. In six years, the endowment fund has developed a  corpus of some $300,000.

Dr. Scofield is senior partner of Cunningham Pathology Associates and is chief of the laboratory of HEALTHSOUTH Medical Center. He earned a master's degree at the University of Georgia and a doctor of medicine degree at the University of Alabama School of Medicine. He is a former president of the Alabama Association of Pathologists.

Mrs. Scofield is first vice president of the Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary and board member of the Medical Alliance of the State of Alabama. A former president of county and state medical auxiliaries, she was vice speaker and board member of the American Medical Association Auxiliary. Known nationally for her expertise as a parliamentarian, she conducts parliamentary workshops for many civic and volunteer organizations.

The Scofields are patrons of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Birmingham Music Club, Opera Birmingham and other area arts organizations.

During their senior year at Samford (then Howard College), the couple posed walking hand-in-hand on campus for a photo that was used on the cover of a school recruiting publication. The Scofields completed their senior final exams on Friday, Aug. 26, 1949 and married the next Sunday at Ruhama Baptist Church near the East Lake campus where the school was located at that time.

The couple, both graduates of Opp High School, has four grown children and six grandchildren. They are active members and teachers at Mountain Brook Baptist Church.

Homecoming weekend activity begins Friday (NOV. 3) with a 50-year class reunion and a concert by popular folk/rock quintet Sister Hazel.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.