StM News

James B. Robinson, M.D., of the Class of 1975, is the 2024-25 recipient of St. Martin’s Episcopal School’s Martin de Tours Award. The award is given each school year to an alum who is an outstanding citizen, consistently serving the community and demonstrating a commitment to the highest standards in his/her chosen field of endeavor.

Robinson, who will celebrate his 50th high school reunion next year, is the 27th recipient of the Martin de Tours Award. All alumni are invited as St. Martin’s honors him during a special ceremony on Friday, November 22, 2024 in the Dan and Frances White Chapel. 

After receiving the news from Head of School Whitney Samuel Drennan ’94, Robinson responded, “I am truly honored to receive such a distinguished award from my St. Martin’s family. I am humbled by the inclusion in such a distinguished group of previous recipients and would have never thought that I could be considered for such recognition. I owe my career to the education and activities that I was privileged enough to experience at St. Martin’s.”

After graduating from St. Martin’s, Robinson earned a bachelor’s of science at Louisiana State University before moving on to Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. He was accepted into the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Family Medicine Residency in 1985, where he completed a rotation in Sports Medicine and spent time with the university’s athletic trainers, learning what they did on a day-to-day basis. After residency, Robinson completed a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio in Primary Care Sports Medicine, which was then a new field, before returning to Tuscaloosa. 

Robinson spent much of his professional career with University of Alabama Athletics. Affectionately known as “Dr. Rob,” Robinson began as a sports medicine physician for the athletic department in 1989. He was the first to hold the Endowed Chair of Sports Medicine for the University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences, and served as head team physician for the athletic department. He was also the director of the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship Program. 

During his years at the University of Alabama, Robinson taught medical students, resident physicians, and sports medicine fellows. He led teams of sports medicine physicians and fellows who provided care for University of Alabama football, gymnastics, softball, women’s basketball, swimming, track, rowing, and adapted athletics teams. He also served as team physician for Tuscaloosa-area high schools and at community events, like the Tuscaloosa Hot Hundred Bike Ride and the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon.

While much of his time was spent on the sidelines of Bryant Denny Stadium, Robinson’s impact was felt far beyond Alabama football games. He was a physician for the U.S. Olympic team at the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia, and for the USA Team Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland. He also served as co-chair of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s (AHSAA) Medical Advisory Board and played a key role in developing the association’s medical health and safety policies. He helped write the Alabama Concussion Law that today governs all athletic events in the state, and served as medical director of Encore/DCH Sports Medicine, the Good Samaritan Clinic, and the AHSAA. He has also served as a physician liaison to the SEC Sports Medicine Committee. 

Robinson authored or co-authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed journal articles, secured research funding, and provided hundreds of regional and national presentations and lectures. He has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and honors, including Slive Distinguished Service Award for the SEC; SEC Team Physician of the Year (twice); Sports Medicine “Person of the Year,” awarded by the Alabama Athletic Trainers Association; the AHSAA Distinguished Recognition Award; and induction into the AHSAA Hall of Fame. Robinson retired from the University of Alabama in February 2022.

“A servant leader and caring physician, Dr. James B. Robinson is a fitting choice as this year’s recipient of the Martin de Tours Award,” said Drennan in making the announcement. “His accomplishments are a testament not only to the quality of a St. Martin’s education but also to the power of dedication, leadership, and service to others. As a person clearly practicing our school’s ideals of Faith, Scholarship, and Service, he is a strong role model for St. Martin’s students.”

Named for the patron saint of the school, the Martin de Tours Award is St. Martin’s highest alumni honor. While serving as an officer in the Roman army (around AD 334 or 354), Martin met a shivering beggar at the gates of the city of Amiens in Gaul. Moved with compassion, he divided his cloak into two parts and gave one to the beggar. St. Martin de Tours exemplified the aspect of service that is at the heart of St. Martin’s Episcopal School’s mission.

Past Martin de Tours Award recipients include: Robert L. Livingston, Jr. ’60, Sue Ruppel Laudeman ’55, Hans A.B. Jonassen ’58, Julie Hogue McCollam ’52, Gwynne Bowman ’59, W. Brooks Emory ’60, James O. Gundlach ’54, Robert W. Merrick ’62, S. Ford Rowan, Jr. ’61, Patty Habeeb Muehlemann ’65, Carlos Zervigon ’57, John M. Girault, Sr. ’55, Robert J. “Bobby” Whann III ’57, Antonio Cabrales ’54, John Gage ’59, Peggy Higgins Sewell ’68, Betsy Threefoot Kaston ’72, Walter E. Blessey, Jr. ’62, Donald K. Marshall ’68, Cynthia Phillips Schmidt ’74, William E. Wright Jr. ’67, John Eastman ’64, Charles Nelson ’65, Kelly Duncan ’72, Christy Brown ’78, and Elizabeth “Libby” Sartain ’72.