O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center Magazine Spring 2020 | Page 38

DIFFICULTAS NE DETERREM
By Curran Umphrey
The O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB
recently installed artwork in the lobby of Wallace
Tumor Institute to honor the O’Neal family
and their lasting impact on the Cancer Center. The
installation, crafted by artists William and Kelly Colburn,
is made of steel materials from O’Neal Steel, the family’s
100-year-old metal distribution and service company.
O’Neal Industries Inc., the family’s global business, and
its shareholders gave $30 million – the largest single
gift in UAB history – to the Comprehensive Cancer
Center at UAB in December 2018. The new artwork that
was installed in the lobby of Wallace Tumor Institute
in October 2019 commemorates this transformative
naming gift, as well as the shared philosophy of O’Neal
Industries and the Cancer Center.
The carefully crafted magnolia tree is more than a striking
piece of art. It symbolizes the spirit of the O’Neal family.
Decades ago, a large magnolia tree took root outside of
the original O’Neal Steel office building in Birmingham,
Alabama, where it grew and developed alongside the
company for years. However, in 1975, the tree interfered
with plans to build a road that would facilitate steel
transportation.
Emmet O’Neal, former chair of O’Neal Steel, instructed
that the magnolia tree be moved across the street next
to the new corporate office building, but experts said
that it couldn’t be done – the tree wouldn’t survive.
Emmet held firm in his decision to move the tree and
preserve its life, and for that reason, the tree is still
standing and thriving to this day.
Kirkman O’Neal, who founded the company in
1921, once had a saying: Difficultas ne deterrem,
meaning “difficulties do not deter us.” The scientists
and physicians who work every day at the O’Neal
Comprehensive Cancer Center now carry on this
spirit of perseverance and commitment as they seek
to improve the outcomes and quality of life for cancer
patients in Birmingham and the state of Alabama.
Today, the steel magnolia tree hanging on the wall of
the Cancer Center lobby serves as a daily reminder of
this attitude.
UAB leaders and Craft O’Neal, chair and CEO of O’Neal Industries, unveil a new art installation in Wallace Tumor Institute with a ribbon-cutting
ceremony on Oct. 15, 2019.
36 O’NEAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER AT UAB