UA’s Black to Receive Buford Peace Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Stephen F. Black, director of The University of Alabama Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility and a faculty member in the Honors College, has been selected the winner of the 2013 Lahoma Adams Buford Peace Award.

This award, established in 2002 by School of Social Work alumnus Tony D. Walker to honor Lahoma Adams Buford, is given annually to a faculty member at UA who, in his or her teaching, research, professional practice and personal life, has demonstrated exceptional levels of involvement in mediating human disputes, helping overcome prejudice, promoting justice and establishing peace.

Black, grandson of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo L. Black, grew up in New Mexico after most of his family left the state in the 1950s and ’60s, following his grandfather’s role in controversial Civil Rights decisions, including Brown v. Board of Education.

Despite growing up more than 1,000 miles away, Black said, from a very young age, he was fascinated by Alabama and the legacy of his family’s commitment to public service in their home state.

As a faculty member in the Honors College, Black teaches various classes in the Moral Forum, a debate program which helps UA students develop the skills necessary to evaluate and respond to moral claims and engage in moral discourse. Additionally, he teaches a course, Poverty in America.

He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated magna cum laude, and he received his juris doctorate from Yale Law School in 1997. Following his graduation from law school, he returned to Alabama to join the Birmingham law firm, Maynard, Cooper and Gale.

After three years with the firm, he was called to public service — serving for a brief time as an assistant to the governor, focusing on policy and economic development projects. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of thousands of students he encountered when speaking across the state, he turned his focus to founding and leading the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility at The University of Alabama, as well as a statewide organization housed at the center called Impact Alabama.

Impact is a nationally unique nonprofit with a staff of 30 full-time college graduates who have provided more than 3,000 college students the opportunity to participate in structured service projects designed to promote learning and leadership development.

Black received the 2008 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders Award for his work with FocusFirst. This national award is given annually to individuals who demonstrate creativity and commitment in addressing society’s most pressing health issues. Ten recipients were chosen from more than 800 nominations.

Established in 1965 by the Alabama Legislature, The University of Alabama School of Social Work seeks to solve bio-psychosocial problems, improve individual and social conditions and promote justice and human dignity through teaching, research and service.