Legends and Leaders honors Weber and Stophel

Dr. Randal S. Weber was honored as Chattanooga’s Distinguished Alumnus at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club during the Legends & Leaders banquet. A UTC chemistry major, Weber earned an undergraduate degree in arts and sciences in 1975.

Weber, head of the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, has been named among the nation’s top physicians six times by various organizations. The native Chattanoogan graduated from the UT Center for Health Sciences Medical School in Memphis, then did a surgical internship at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.

He completed surgical and otolaryngology residencies at Baylor College of Medicine, followed by a one-year fellowship at M.D. Anderson in 1985 before joining the Anderson faculty.

In 1996 he joined the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was vice chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, and director of the Center for Head and Neck Cancer. As chief of head and neck cancer at that hospital, he taught residents and fellows management of head and neck tumors.

Weber was the recipient of the Louis Duhring Outstanding Clinical Specialist Award given by the University of Pennsylvania Health System. After seven years at the hospital he accepted the position at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Weber has written or co-written more than 125 scientific publications.

Civic leader John Stophel was also honored at the banquet when he was presented with The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Outstanding Service Award, presented by the Alumni Board. Stophel was recognized for his involvement on the UTC campus and in the community.

Stophel is a lawyer and founding member of Chambliss Bahner & Stophel. He is a former president of the Chattanooga Bar Association, of the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy and of Estate Planning Council of Chattanooga.

Stophel also has served as president of the Rotary Club, Campus Development Foundation, Chattanooga Jaycees and Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. He has served on the boards of Chattanooga Christian Community Foundation, Metropolitan YMCA and the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Commission.

He was 2002-2004 chairman of the University of Chattanooga Foundation. His commitment to education includes serving on the national advisory council of Bryan College, UT College of Law continuing legal education advisory committee, Covenant College board of associates, Tennessee Temple University’s President’s Forum and Bob Jones University’s board of trustees.

He has been named the Bob Jones University Alumnus of the Year and the Chattanooga Legal Secretaries Association’s Boss of the Year. He has won the Chattanooga Bar Association’s President’s Award, Kiwanis Distinguished Service Award and the Ralph Kelley Humanitarian Award.