UA Alumnus Aims to Lift Students into Higher Ed

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Tyrell F. Jordan, a Birmingham attorney and alumnus of The University of Alabama, has created a $25,000 endowed scholarship to support students from underrepresented urban communities.

Jordan, a product of the Birmingham City Schools, earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from UA in 2001. He received his JD from the UA Law School in 2004.

The scholarship was announced Sept. 26 during “Coming Back, Giving Back,” a dinner gathering hosted by the Division of Community Affairs advisory board at the Bryant Conference Center.

“I always dreamed of serving my community through the practice of law,” said Jordan, a Community Affairs board member. “The University of Alabama’s commitment to helping all of its students reach their full potential provided me with an opportunity to fulfill that dream. I want to do my part to ensure that others have that same opportunity.”

Katie Boyd Britt, Community Affairs board president, lauded Jordan ‘s contribution and the board ‘s efforts to “set the bar high” for future board members.

“I applaud Tyrell for his leadership and generosity in establishing this scholarship and am enthusiastic about how this board and its members will support and serve our University,” Britt said.

The board of advisors is made up of outstanding UA alumni committed to community engagement and student success. Members mentor current students and assist in recruiting outstanding future leaders. They also support campus-wide initiatives that increase student success and retention, facilitate student involvement in entrepreneurship and innovative initiatives, and support the development of thoughtful global and community leaders.

Community Affairs also announced during the dinner that the Global and Community Leadership Committee, which recognizes the importance of exposure to people and cultures different from your own, will provide financing for two $2,500 scholarships. One will be utilized to offer support for a foreign study opportunity, while the other will finance a local study project.

Additionally, the Student Entrepreneurship and Innovative Initiatives Committee recognized the need to pull together different groups on campus – who are offering similar opportunities to students – through their common goals. This group seeks to find ways to empower students to explore non-traditional paths and to place UA graduates in incubators and businesses around the globe. The group has committed to having financial donations in place in the amount of $15,000 by their spring 2017 meeting, for the purpose of funding entrepreneurship projects by students.

Dr. Cathy Randall, chairman of the board of Pettus Randall Holdings, LLC, and director emerita of UA ‘s Honors Program, served as guest speaker for the dinner gathering following nearly two days of idea-sharing by board members, who also heard from a cross section of UA students. Boards members and guests, University deans and vice presidents and current student leaders filled the Rast Room as Randall delivered words of encouragement.

“Collecting this much talent, in one room, for one cause, has the potential to make a dramatic difference on this campus and in the lives of so many students,” Randall said. “I know of no university that has the vision that (vice president for Community Affairs) Dr. Pruitt has had [in order] to enable, to empower, and to inspire recent student leaders to directly impact a university.”