Lister Hill Society
The Lister Hill Society, the Annual Fund of the University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences (CCHS), is dedicated to the support and advancement of medical education, healthcare services, and research, with particular emphasis on primary care and rural healthcare.
The Society is named for one of Alabama's most distinguished public servants, a lifelong advocate of innovative public-health programs in the state and nation. Lister Hill was first elected to the United States Congress at the age of 29, and he remained there for almost 50 years, first in the House of Representatives, then for 30 years in the Senate. He was the son of a distinguished physician in Montgomery, Alabama, who had studied under Sir Joseph Lister in London.
Senator Hill was a graduate of this university and its law school. Perhaps because of his father's influence, his most memorable achievements in Congress were in healthcare legislation. He recognized the dire shortage of hospitals throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. The passage of the Hill-Burton Act in 1946 led to the construction of 9,200 new hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and public-health facilities throughout the country. Alabama participated fully with the Act and over the next two decades, 65 of Alabama's 67 counties had constructed "Hill-Burton" hospitals.
Senator Hill's contributions to the nation's health are manifold. He was a major advocate in the Senate in establishing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- the preeminent medical research organization in the world. A wing of the Nation Library of Medicine on the NIH campus is named for him, as is the Lister Hill Library of the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham.
The Lister Hill Society (LHS) is governed by a board, the majority of whom are community leaders in Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area. The dean and two senior faculty members appointed by the dean serve as ex-officio members, and the board elects its own chairperson. Expenditures of LHS funds are made by the board, subject to the approval of the dean.
* The Lister Hill Society hosts an annual reception for the faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the College.