The Legacy of B.U.S.
Those at Birmingham University School were aware that the capacity to learn and the ability to make use of information in creative and reflective thinking, as traits, are uniquely human. There was a general feeling for “learning PER SE” as the indispensable fabric of sound thinking. While the leadership and faculty did seek every opportunity to encourage the use of facts in intelligent reasoning, they considered their first business to be the teaching of fundamental knowledge and skills.
The curriculum of B.U.S. aimed to offer the best possible preparation for college entrance—it was the desire of the administration and the faculty that each graduate of the school would be able to enter the college of his choice and excel within his course of study whatsoever it might be.
Distinguished Alumni
The highest honor Altamont can bestow upon its graduates—
Awarded to those who have made significant commitments and contributions to Altamont and to their community so that they are considered distinguished by the Alumni Award Committee. It is fitting and proper that achievements of particular distinction be recognized.
2003 Hobart McWhorter, 1949
2004 Billy Rushton, 1947
2005 Joe Farley, 1944
2007 Merrill Bradley, 1945
2008 Pete McGriff, 1934
2009 Dixon Brooke, 1966
1995 Charles Gaines, 1960
1996 Scott Fuller, 1969
1997 Jim Barton, 1970
1998 Bruce Denson, 1968
1999 Bill Daniel, 1960
2001 Charles Caldwell, 1964
2002 Jimmy Shepherd, 1945
Distinguished Authors
1949 Wayne Rogers
Make Your Own Rules: A Renegade Guide to Unconventional Success, 2011
1960 Charles Gaines
The Next Valley Over: An Angler’s Progress, 2000
Stay Hungry, 1972
A Family Place: A Man Returns to the Center of His Life, 1994
1968 Tom Huey
1970 Art Black
Showdown at Rickwood, 2016
1974 Michael McConnell
Pediatric Heart Sounds, 2008
1933 Walker Percy
The Moviegoer, 1998
Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book, 2000
Love in the Ruins, 1999
The Last Gentleman: A Novel, 1999
Signposts in a Strange Land: Essays, 2000
The Second Coming: A Novel, 1999
The Thanatos Syndrome: A Novel, 1999
The Message in the Bottle: How Queer Man is, How Queer Language is, and What One has to do with the Other, 2000
Lancelot: A Novel, 1999
1945 Jimmy Shepherd
Jimmy: Milestones in the Life of James Wylie Shepherd
1947 John Kaul Greene
The Rushton Cup
Headmaster’s Cup (left) & Rushton Cup (right)
Rushton Cup Winners
Established in 1929
“There are many awards given to students of B.U.S. who excel in certain student activities. The most coveted award is the J. Frank Rushton Cup, which is given at the end of each year to the student who surpasses in ideal school citizenship. The boys are graded in scholarship, loyalty, leadership, sportsmanship, personality, athletics, participation in school activities, and popularity. These are determined by a combined vote of the faculty and student body.”
—Murray White ‘31 B.U.S. Class of 1931
Excerpt from the first “Omnibus,” 1930-1931
Edward Rushton, 1940s
1930 S.G. Stubbins; 1931 Herbert E. Smith, Jr; 1932 Herbert E. Smith, Jr; 1933 R.E. Johnston, Jr; 1934 W. Lutkins Johnston; 1935 Peterson Marzoni, Jr; 1936 Keehn W. Berry, Jr; 1937 Roland Mushat Frye; 1938 Francis A. Marzoni; 1939 Roland Mushat Frye; 1940 Bartlett Johnson; 1941 John G. Farley, III; 1942 Joseph M. Farley; 1943 Merrill N. Bradley; 1944 William J. Rushton, III; 1945 James W. Shepherd; 1946 Hobart A. McWhorter; 1947 Larry R. Shannon; 1948 William H. Brantley, III; 1949 Leon Hamrick, Jr; 1950 Alfred M. Boone; 1951 Lewis Green Woodson; 1952 Russell Callen Luquire ; 1953 Richard Kirk McClung; 1954 Billy Leavell; 1955 Lee Scott Cutcliff; 1956 Donelson Ross Adams; 1957 Patton Bradford; 1958 Alex Patterson Goodhew; 1959 William Leary McDavid; 1960 Carroll Clermont Livingston; 1961 Henry Hardy Perritt; 1962 Charles Brandon Crow; 1963 Bruce Richard Nelson; 1964 Paul Favor Elliott; 1965 Julius Frank Day, III; 1966 Paul Favor Elliott; 1967 William Vernon Whitaker; 1968 William Vernon Whitaker; 1969 James Clifton Barton, Jr; 1970 John Stewart Civils; 1971 Jones Charles Dunham; 1972 Norman Dewey Pless; 1973 William Roy Schooley; 1974 John Charles Bell; 1975 Henry Graham Beene; 1976 John Andrew Boname; 1977 James Gregory Alldredge; 1978 Daniel Hardon Monroe, III; 1979 Edward Neal Williamson; 1980 William L. Baggett, Jr; 1981 Nicholas Peter Knoll; 1982 Robert Kevin Alldredge; 1983 Robert McGinley Fox; 1984 Colin Henry Luke; 1985 Jeffrey Landon Aldridge; 1986 Thomas Jefferson Payne, IV; 1987 Warren Jackson St. John; 1988 Thomas McLendon Crawford; 1989 Robert Jason Matlock; 1990 Christopher Keith Thomas ; 1991 Thomas Edward Walker; 1992 Thomas Griffin McGahey; 1993 Heustis Pennington Whiteside, III; 1994 William Ernest Hereford, III; 1995 James Richard Albany, Jr; 1996 Samuel Drayton Haskell; 1997 Paul Nii-Amar Amamoo; 1998 Charles Donald Robinson; 1999 Nassif John Cannon; 2000 Shelton Wiley Wright; 2001 Steven Louis Pappas; 2002 Charles William McEwen; 2003 John (Jack) Merrill Gray, III; 2004 David Leo Wright Hall; 2005 Sean Adam Nelson; 2006 Louis Wilson Taylor; 2007 Hobart Amory King; 2008 Steven Christopher Johanson; 2009 Gabriel Carlton Harris; 2010 Simon Nicholas Fiedler Basilico; 2011 Malcolm Jamal Taylor; 2012 Pranav Krishnon; 2013 Stephen Higgins McMahon; 2014 Emory Raymond Cox; 2015 Patrick Stephens O'Neal; 2016 Robert Hughmark Denniston; 2017 Miles Mwenyi Underwood; 2018 Jeet Rupesh Patel; 2019 James Nimmo Dixon; 2020 Shawn Garret Goyal; 2021 Matthew Wandu Mugweru