Dr. Bob McKinney, director of the Office of Case Management and Social Services at University Medical Center, attended a recent Carl A. Elliott Student Honor Society event to highlight a memoir of the late Mary Allen Jolley, a longtime patient at UMC and member of its Patient Advisory Council.
The Elliott Society, of which McKinney is a faculty advisor, is named in honor of the late Carl Atwood Elliott, a former Alabama representative, and recognizes students, faculty and alumni who have made significant leadership contributions to the campus, community, state and nation in areas of social and cultural progress. Each year, the Elliot Society brings eighth graders from underserved schools in West Alabama to UA’s campus to help them envision a future that includes higher education by showing them that college – specifically UA – is within their reach.
The event included a book release of Jolley’s memoir, Accidental Activist, during which an anonymous donor purchased copies to give to every member of the Elliot Society.
The memoir is a reflection of Jolley’s life. She served for many years as a legislative assistant to Elliott and helped draft the National Defense Education Act of 1958. She later was appointed by President John F. Kennedy to the advisory panel that helped write the Vocational Education Act of 1964. Jolley was recruited to UA as director of Economic Development and was instrumental in creating the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers.