Story: Lisa Sollie | Photo: Cody Ingram
Three distinguished individuals, including a community college president, a member of the UWA Athletic Hall of Fame, and a former dean and researcher, were inducted into the University of West Alabama’s Society of the Golden Key during a ceremony at the Bell Conference Center, Thursday, Jan. 30. Alongside the inductees, Olivier Charles, a resident of Mobile, Alabama; Dee Outlaw of Livingston, Alabama; and Dr. John McCall of Livingston, 12 other individuals were recognized at the National Alumni Association Alumni Achievement Awards, which took place in conjunction with the Golden Key Induction ceremony.
Olivier Charles
Charles has spent more than a decade in higher education leadership, beginning as Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management at his alma mater, the University of West Alabama (UWA). In August 2022, he was named President of Bishop State Community College, one of six historically black colleges in the Alabama Community College System. Born in Port Au-Prince, Haiti, Charles sees his role as president as a way to give back to his community, believing strongly in the importance of youth having role models to keep them on the right path. As the only community college in the City of Mobile, Bishop State plays a vital role in the area. In June 2024, Charles was honored as one of “The Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2025,” a national recognition awarded by the HBCU Campaign Fund. Charles holds a bachelor’s degree in special education, and a master’s in Continuing Education with an emphasis in College Student Development, both from UWA.
Dee Outlaw
Outlaw began his career at UWA as a student assistant in the Office of Sports Information, later becoming the university’s first full-time sports information director in 1975. Over the course of his successful 21-year career promoting Tiger Athletics, Outlaw was named assistant athletic director before stepping into the role of athletic director in 1994. As director, he played a key role in the development of the UWA Softball Complex and helped launch men’s and women’s intercollegiate cross county and rodeo programs. A Jackson, Alabama, native, Outlaw is also proud to count 15 family members among the university’s alumni. In recognition of his lifelong dedication to sports and student-athletes, he was recently inducted into the UWA Athletic Hall of Fame and honored as a charter member of the Gulf South Conference Hall of Fame.
John McCall
McCall joined UWA in 1992 after completing his Ph.D. in zoology, specializing in marine ecology, at Louisiana State University. Over the years, he held various leadership roles, including Chair of the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences from 1994-2007, and later Dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics from 2014 until his retirement in 2022. Throughout his career, McCall demonstrated a strong commitment to UWA students and the campus community, earning UWA’s prestigious William E. Gilbert Award for Outstanding Teaching twice (1996-97 and 2008-09), the McIlwain Bell Trustee Professor Award in 2007, and the Phi Kappa Phi “Great Minds” award in 2011. In addition to his leadership roles, McCall served as liaison to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab from 1992 to 2007, oversaw the chartering of the Beta Phi Chapter of the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society in 1998 (serving as faculty advisor to the chapter until 2020) and led several major research initiatives. These included serving as Principle Investigator (PI) for a $1.4 million National Science Foundation-funded Robert Noyce Scholarship grant for STEM Teaching, a $300,000 USDA-funded Partners Against Invasive Species grant, and a $750,000 Partners for Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability grant. He also served as Co-PI on a BP-funded grant to investigate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and on two NSF-funded scholarship grants for biology majors: BOSS I and BOSS II. Upon his retirement, McCall was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.
Founded in 1963 by UWA faculty members, Ralph Lyon, Robert B. Gilbert, Elizabeth Hoover, Alda Mae Spieth and William Tidwell, Jr., The Society of the Golden Key, recognizes alumni and former faculty who have distinguished themselves through their achievements and the positive impact they’ve made on the University. Since its founding, 249 distinguished individuals have been inducted into the society, each leaving a legacy of achievement and service.