
SOPHE Distinguished Fellow Award
David Birch, professor and chair, Department of Health Science, The College of Human Environmental Sciences at The University of Alabama received SOPHE's highest honor awarded to a member, the Distinguished Fellow Award. This honor is awarded to only one person each year. During his career of more than 40 years, Dr. Birch has advanced the scholarship and practice of both community and school health education through teaching, research and professional service. He is the only person who has been elected President of both SOPHE (2016-2017) and the Association for the Advancement of Health Education (2000-2002). Dr. Birch has served in numerous national leadership roles chairing or co-chairing national committees and serving as a member of various journal editorial boards. He is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and author/co-author of several books. He has also received the Eta Sigma Gamma Honor Award, the organization’s highest award. He is a Fellow of both the American Association for Health Education and the American School Health Association.

Under the leadership of Jen Nickelson, the Department of Health Science, Delta Xi Chapter of Eta Sigma Gama continues to receive national recognition. This is a tribute to ESG’s undergraduate and graduate members and Dr. Nickelson’s leadership.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Delta Xi Chapter has received the Eta Sigma Gamma National Service Activity Award winner. Along with the National Teaching and National Research Awards, the National Service Award is one of the three highest awards given to ESG chapters. This award brings national recognition to the work of our students. The award was given at the SOPHE National Conference in Columbus.
Additional National Awards at SOPHE Conference
At the SOPHE conference in Columbus, The Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education (FAHE) conferred the Delbert Oberteuffer Scholarship to Eric Conrad, a doctoral student in health education and promotion in the Department of Health Science. As with the department’s other awards, this highly-competitive award is a compliment to both Eric and the department faculty members. Conrad, along with Jennifer Evans, received SOPHE's 21st Century Scholarships.
Hannah Priest Catalano, a 2015 graduate of the Department of Health Science doctoral program in health education and promotion received the 2018 Horizon Award. This award is given to an outstanding emerging leader in the field of health education and promotion. Dr. Priest Catalano is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington.