In May of 1996, he began his medical education at the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, West Indies and the Chicago Medical School affiliated, Jackson Park Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. As a medical student, Dr. Bertram was distinguished as a leader by being awarded a teaching assistant position in human anatomy, head teaching assistant in clinical diagnosis and was elected vice president of the student body.

In June of 2000, Dr. Bertram was awarded the MD degree with honors and was offered post-doctoral training positions at Yale University and the University of Chicago. After 2 years of Internal Medicine training he embarked upon a three year residency in Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago with an emphasis on Interventional Pain Management.

During this time Dr. Bertram has been identified as an educator and named the “Outstanding Teacher of the Year” for two consecutive years. He has also made contributions to his specialty by designing IRB approved research protocols and conducting clinical research in the areas of pain, operative and perioperative medicine, presenting his results at the annual meetings of the American Society of Anesthesiology and the International Anesthesia Research Society.

In July of 2005, Dr. Bertram will begin sub-specialty training at the University of Michigan as a fellow in the department of Interventional Pain Management. He has an interest in academic medicine which would allow him to continue educating young physicians, conduct meaningful clinical research and contribute to the scientific community in the fields of anesthesia and pain medicine.

Professor Coffield received numerous academic honors including the Outstanding Achievement in Mathematics award. He was also named a James B. Angell Scholar in 2003.

Professor Coffield interests include both pure and applied mathematics. His particular areas of interest are analysis, probability theory, and financial mathematics.

Henry Panion, III, Ph.D.

Henry Panion, III, Ph.D., holds degrees in music education and music theory from Alabama A & M University and Ohio State University, respectively. He is most known for his work as conductor and arranger for superstar Stevie Wonder, for whose performances and recordings he has led many of the world’s most notable orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, the Birmingham (England) Symphony, the Orchestra of Paris, the Melbourne (Australia) Symphony, the Rio de Janeiro Philharmonic, the Ra’anana Philharmonic, the Nice Symphony, the Gothenberg Symphony, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. The two-CD set Natural Wonder features Dr. Panion conducting his arrangements of many of Stevie Wonder’s award-winning, chart-topping songs with Stevie and the Tokyo Philharmonic. Other artists for whom Dr. Panion has had the opportunity to conduct and/or arrange include The Winans, Chet Adkins, Dionne Warwick, and Aretha Franklin.

Dr. Panion’s own works for orchestra are programmed by orchestras throughout North America and by many of this country’s major orchestras, including the Cleveland Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the National Symphony. A selected list of other orchestras performing Dr. Panion’s works include San Antonio, Columbus, Charlotte, San Diego, Louisville, North Carolina, Indianapolis, Arkansas, Jacksonville, Alabama, and the former Birmingham Metropolitan Orchestra, for which he served as Music Director from 1995-1997.

As a producer, composer, arranger, and orchestrator, Dr. Panion’s work has produced two Grammy Awards, two Dove Awards, and a host of other national music awards and nominations. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Panion served as chair of the Department of Music at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Other honors included a 1995 Distinguished Alumni Award from Alabama A & M University and a 1996 Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award from the Ohio State University. He is the 1996 recipient of the Caroline P. and Charles W. Ireland Award for Scholarly Distinction and a 1995 inductee into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. In 2000, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees honored Dr. Panion for his many contributions to the field of music and bestowed upon him the distinguished appointment of University Professor.

J. Scott Wickson, MA (ABT)

Professor Wickson was ordained as a Minister at The Apostolic Church – Auburn Hills in 1996. He earned his B.A. in History from Oakland University in April 2000. He has since finished the course work for his M.A. in history and is currently conducting research for his Master’s thesis which will investigate the connections between the 1770 Boston Massacre and the revolution movement in Virginia. He has taught previously at the High School level and is to begin his career as Secondary Principal at Auburn Hills Christian School in Fall 2005. He and his wife are very involved in their church in various ministries and are kept very busy raising their four children.