Charles Barkley to receive lifetime achievement award from Auburn Alumni Association

Television broadcaster Charles Barkley is among four people chosen to receive the highest honor given by the Auburn Alumni Associatoion.

According to a Thursday press release, on March 3, 2018, Barkley will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

Beside Barkley, a member of the National Basketball Association Hall of Fame and two-time Olympic gold medalist, recipients will be Melanie Barstad, Charles Gavin III and Keith King.

Melanie Barstad is former president of Women’s Health Initiatives for the Medical Devices and Diagnostics sector of Johnson & Johnson.

Charles Gavin III is founder and former CEO of major textile polymer and surfactant supplier MFG Chemical and 2016 inductee to the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

Keith King is former CEO of Volkert Inc. and a 2002 inductee to the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

Also being honored is Dr. Erica Stringer-Reasor a hematology and oncology faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine since 2015.

She will receive the Young Alumni Achievement Award, which recognizes extraordinary accomplishments by members of the Auburn Family age 40 and under.

The release says Barkley, a health and physical education major at Auburn, established himself during three years playing basketball for Auburn as one of the most dominant players in the sport.

Taken fifth overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1984 NBA draft, Barkley quickly emerged as one of the league’s most exciting players in the league to watch. Barkley joined the Phoenix Suns in 1992, the same year he won a gold medal at the Barcelona Summer Olympics as part of the original USA “Dream Team.” He would earn another gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics before retiring from the NBA in 2000 with the Houston Rockets.

Voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history, Barkley was the 1993 season MVP, an 11-time NBA All-Star, a five-time All-NBA First Team selection and one of only five players in NBA history with 23,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists. Auburn University, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Phoenix Suns have all retired his No. 34 jersey.

In the years following his retirement, Barkley has co-hosted TNT’s “Inside the NBA,” earning sports Emmy awards in 2012, 2013 and 2017 for “Outstanding Sports Personality.” He has authored four books, amassed numerous film and television credits and is a household name thanks to his quick wit and outspoken personality. The Charles Barkley Foundation, founded in 1995, has provided endowed scholarships to Auburn, Alabama A&M, Morehouse College and Clark-Atlanta University.

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Charles Barkley to receive lifetime achievement award from Auburn Alumni Association."