On February 15, 2020 Dr. Karl K. Stegall was inducted into the University of Alabama (UA) College of Education Hall of Fame. Stegall serves as the volunteer president of the Stegall Seminary Scholarship Endowment Foundation.
Upon receiving the honor, Stegall remarked, “There are many individuals who are more deserving, but none could be more appreciative. Whatever measure of success that I might have achieved in life, I stand on the shoulders of my family members, teachers, and friends.”
Stegall graduated from UA with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1958. His degree from The College of Education led him to teach and coach basketball in Flomaton, Ala. until 1961, when he decided to enter seminary to become a United Methodist minister.
Introducing Dr. Stegall at the banquet was Dr. Melba Richardson, a fellow Hall of Fame member and member of First United Methodist Church of Montgomery. Richardson said,
“Upon his retirement from the ministry in 2007, he and his wife, Brenda, who, by the way was a member of the UA Million Dollar Band, made the biggest decision to impact others. The Stegall Foundation was established in their honor and has since raised over $10 million, from which earnings were distributed to 51 students this past year.”
“Simply put, Brenda and Karl help students, and those students, in turn, help scores of other people...all in the name of education,” she said.
In his letter of recommendation to the selection committee, foundation board member and UA graduate Dr. Jeremy Pridgeon wrote: “From his early childhood in rural west Alabama, Dr. Stegall has possessed a love for learning. Inspired by his mother, who was a school teacher in the old ‘one-room’ schoolhouse of another era, Karl has always had a keen sense of wonder and curiosity about life. Karl is a wealth of information on a wide array of topics, staying informed on local, state, national and world events, and is a walking encyclopedia of knowledge on many different aspects of life.”
Pridgeon goes on to write: “It is difficult to capture the essence of Karl Stegall and the totality of his influence in the lives of men and women. The lengths he goes to help others is remarkable. His capacity to see the needs around him and his willingness to find resources to meet those needs reflects the selfless nature of his character. I believe he does this, not only because of the call upon his life and his deep faith, but because he understands the importance of trying to help people develop their capacity to the fullest.”
The Stegall Foundation Board of Directors congratulates Dr. Stegall on this well-deserved honor.
