Explore UAB

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Dr. Lamar joined the UAB faculty in 1973 and in 1978 was named as associate vice president and dean of Student Affairs, the first African American named to a senior administrative position at UAB. Dr. Lamar received the 1994 President’s Medal and remained at UAB until his retirement in 1998. UAB established a student scholarship in his name.

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Medical Information Service via Telephone (MIST), which began operation in August 1969, allowed Alabama physicians to call and discuss medical problems with specialists on duty at the UAB Medical Center. Later, the program expanded to physicians from across the country and it became a model for similar programs in other states.

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University Hospital was the location for UAB staff and employees to receive an inoculation as part of a nation-wide swine flu vaccination effort held during the fall of 1976.

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In 1968 two people were hired to teach art classes part-time. In 1969 the two became full-time instructors within the Division of Humanities. In 1972 UAB began a major in art, and in 1973 the Department of Art was formally organized within the new School of Humanities.

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Image ID:Annual Report yearbook

A large hallway sign placed in University College Building Number 1 proclaimed “The School of Business Supports ‘Our’ Blazers….and the Entire Blazer Team!”  The UAB men’s and women’s teams debuted in basketball games held in 1978. Building Number 1 is the current School of Education Building

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In January 1970 UAB employees and students approved by campus vote a referendum to create a Senate that would be comprised of faculty, staff, and student representatives.  The first meeting of the new College of General Studies Senate was held February 11, 1970.  The 39-member Senate included elected faculty, staff, and students and administrators appointed by the dean of the College of General Studies.  During the fall term of 1971, the Senate was renamed as the University College Senate following the creation of the new administrative entity University College.  In 1980 the Senate was reconstituted as a faculty-only body to serve as an advisory voice for the faculty in the various units within University College.  After a multi-year process, in 1995 President J. Claude Bennett approved a campus-wide UAB Faculty Senate and this Senate first met on June 30, 1995.

Image ID: Annual Report yearbook

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The steel structure of a building to house the School of Optometry rises on the UAB campus. The optometry building was dedicated on September 12, 1975 ; it would be renamed the Henry B. Peters Building in 1994 in honor the school's founding dean. In this view looking east from Volker Hall, the Statue of Hippocrates is visible in the original courtyard that was located in front of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences.

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UAB President Joseph F. Volker (left) and members of the Bell family attend the dedication of the Bell Building.  Part of the Ullman-Bell complex, the building was named in honor of the late Dr. George C. Bell, who had served as the first principal of the Ullman High School from 1937 until 1965.

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Denman Hall, circa 1975.

In 1973 construction was completed on a student residence at UAB.  The new building provided 100 housing units in efficiencies, one-bedroom units, and three-bedroom suites.  In 1975 the residence hall was renamed Denman Hall in honor of Hugh Denman, an executive director of the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) and a supporter of UAB.  Since the demolition of older facilities in 2002, Denman Hall has been the oldest remaining residence on the UAB campus.  Denman was closed before the fall 2024 term and demolition of the building began in January 2025.

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In a ceremony in the auditorium of the Engineering Building [Cudworth Hall], UAB commemorated the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The event was held during the ten-year anniversary of King’s assassination.  The keynote speaker, Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker (seated third from left), was the chief-of-staff for Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.  Funding for the event was provided by the UAB student government and graduate student associations.

UAB celebrated Black History Week as early as 1975 with a series of lectures, dances, and art shows.  Following national trends, UAB changed to a month-long celebration in 1977.

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As an urban university housed in the middle of the city of Birmingham, UAB construction projects and special events often necessitate the closure of portions of streets or of entire streets, for short or extended durations depending on the specific project.  This is a common occurrence today, with numerous ongoing construction projects on the campus.  But street closure is nothing new to UAB.  As is clearly visible in this photograph from circa 1974, Eighth Avenue South, one of the city's main thoroughfares, was closed to traffic to allow work on the streetscape and for continued construction of the optometry building (center background).  Eighth Avenue South would be renamed in 1981 as University Boulevard.

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Engineering students assemble a mechanical arm, June 1978.  UAB students work on improving the prototype of the device for the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) student competition.

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Merrell, a former UAB student, became the first head coach of the Lady Blazer's basketball team in August 1977. Prior to the establishment of an NCAA-approved athletics program, UAB had offered intramural and intercollegiate teams for its students. The new Lady Blazers basketball team took the court for the first time on November 29, 1978. Merrell coached at UAB until 1981.

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McQueen, who had 25 years of service with the university, was a keypunch supervisor in the Central Computing Facility. In January of 1979 she would also be selected as UAB's first "Employee of the Year."

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Groundbreaking ceremony for an addition to University Hospital, August 1, 1974.

University officials use a backhoe to break ground -- and the concrete of a parking lot and sidewalk -- for a nine-story addition to the hospital complex, the Monday Morning Quarterback Club Tower.  UAB's new facility would be named in honor of the local civic organization, the Monday Morning Quarterback Club, which supports children's medical needs through charitable activities and contributions.  The club provided funding for the building.  "Quarterback Tower" would be opened in July 1977.

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UAB instituted a homecoming celebration to coincide with its new NCAA-level basketball program, which had debuted in the fall of 1978.  The festivities in January of 1979 included basketball games for the new men's and women's teams, an on-campus bonfire, and a homecoming dance for students.  Homecoming would remain a part of the basketball season until 1994 when the celebration was moved to the fall to coincide with football season.

Image ID: Phoenix yearbook