Vestavia Hills resident wins prestigious Vulcan Award

It was a Friday afternoon, and Dr. Henna Budhwani had stepped out of her office for a minute. When she returned, she had a voicemail.

“A deep male voice was recorded. ‘Hello, Dr. Budhwani,’” Budhwani recalled. “At that point, I thought, ‘OK. It’s a graduate student needing some information.’”

Instead, it was Birmingham Mayor William Bell calling to tell Budhwani that she was a Vulcan Award winner.

“The Vulcan Awards are among the highest civil honors in the metropolitan area — the two prior recipients in this category were university presidents,” Budhwani said, who is an assistant professor for health care organization and policy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is also the deputy director for the Sparkman Center for Global Health. “Thus, being a recipient is both intimidating and humbling.”

Budhwani was nominated by a prior student, who called her “amazing and an inspiration.”

“Dr. B always takes time to motivate students into pursuing careers which promote the development of civil society, particularly in the state,” her nominator wrote. “Her students are now well-placed to further positive change.”

Budhwani is a positive change agent herself:  She works closely with community partners in the United States and abroad who are interested in improving health outcomes through public health practice. Her research interests include health disparities with an emphasis on immigrant and minority health and international health, specifically in the areas of reproductive and maternal health. 

She has also worked on or funded projects for countries including Tanzania, Kenya, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jamaica, Nepal, Dominican Republic and Cameroon. 

Despite her global focus, Budhwani is a resident of Vestavia Hills, where she and her husband are raising 5-year-old twin boys. Originally from Chicago, Budhwani is an approved Huffington Post contributor, wears sneakers to work almost every day and loves, as she puts it, “terrible ’90s music.” She has been skydiving, describes herself as socially awkward and is Level 25 in Pokemon Go.

“A student once described me to another student as a cross between Mary Poppins and a Tyrannosaurus rex,” she said.

Though she obviously inspires her students, they inspire her in turn, as well.

“UAB students inspire me,” she said. “So many of them are first-generation college attendees. The weight of their families is on their shoulders — their successes in college are celebrated by their families and their communities. Many work full time and do their best to keep their grades up. Even in these situations, so many students want to work abroad, because they know that with their education comes responsibility to improve the conditions of others and to do so with grace, gratitude and humility.”

Budhwani said humility inspires her, as do people.

“Every day, people inspire me,” she said. “I have the privilege of working with some of the greatest minds in this country. None of them are in it for glory — they do what they do because it is important, because it helps people, because it advances science.”

And, in her typical modest way, Budhwani deflects credit for her recent award.

“While I am delighted to be the recipient of this award, it goes without saying that the real credit for this award is due to UAB, the UAB School of Public Health and the UAB Sparkman Center for Global Health,” she said.