Martha Hagood, a native of Albertville, will be among those memorialized during the ceremony. Dr. Hagood was a graduate of Howard College (now Samford), Class of 1944. After completing medical school at the University of Alabama, she was appointed as a missionary to Japan by the Southern Baptist Convention. She served at the Japan Baptist Hospital in Kyoto from 1953 until 1966. From 1967 until 1995, Dr. Hagood cared for her patients in Eku, Nigeria, even during the Biafran War of 1967. The Nigerian Obstetrics and Gynecology Society erected a bronze statue of a mother and child in Dr. Hagood’s honor after her retirement. She died on September 9, 2013, having offered the grace of Christ to thousands of people.

The world is better because of Dr. Martha Hagood.
 
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.