Posted by Bill Nunnelley on 2006-08-08

Samford University School of Business Dean Beck A. Taylor was named one of Birmingham's "Top 40 Under 40" by the Birmingham Business Journal in its annual listing of up-and-coming community leaders.

Dr. Taylor joined Samford during the summer of 2005 from Baylor University, where he had been associate dean of the business school and the W. H. Smith Professor of Economics.

Six Samford alumni joined Taylor on the honor list, including five graduates of Samford's Cumberland School of Law. They are:

Thomas A. Davis, managing member of Constangy Brooks & Smith LLC, a 1992 graduate of Cumberland.

Michael R. Griffin, vice president, retirement plan consultant for Merrill Lynch, a 2003 Cumberland graduate with a Samford MBA in 2004.

Robert R. Maddox, attorney with Burr & Forman LLP, a 2000 Cumberland graduate.

Robert G. Methvin, partner with McCallum Methvin & Terrell PC, a 1994 Cumberland graduate.

Curt Stokes, manager of Warren Averett Kimbrough & Marino LLC, a 1995 Samford graduate with a Master of Accountancy degree in 1999 and MBA in 2000.

Kile T. Turner, attorney with Norman Wood Kendrick & Turner, 1994 Cumberland graduate.

Birmingham's Top 40 Under 40 will be recognized at a luncheon at The Wynfrey Hotel Thursday, Aug. 24.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.