| Name | Samuel B. Barker Papers |
| Dates | 1923 - 2002 |
| Extent | 19.50 cubic feet |
| Historical Note | Samuel Booth Barker was born on March 3, 1912, in Montclair, New Jersey. After graduating with a B.S. degree from the University of Vermont in 1932, he attended Cornell University where he received his Ph.D. in physiology in 1936. Barker remained at the Cornell University Medical Center until 1941, then moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he became a full-time instructor in physiology at the University of Tennessee medical school. In 1944, Dr. Barker accepted his first faculty position in the physiology department at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. In 1952, he accepted a position as a professor of pharmacology at the Medical College of Alabama. He remained in Birmingham until 1962 when he accepted a position in the pharmacology department at the University of Vermont. Dr. Barker returned to Birmingham in 1965 as director of Graduate Studies at UAB, and in 1970 he was appointed first dean of the UAB Graduate School. He remained as dean until 1978 when he retired and was designated as Dean Emeritus. Barker also served as associate dean of the medical school and as associate dean of the dental school. In 1976 he was selected as the Medical Center's fifth Distinguished Faculty Lecturer and that same year was named a Distinguished Professor at UAB. In 1979 he received an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from UAB and in 1991 he received the UAB President's Medal. Samuel Booth Barker maintained close relations with UAB until his death in Birmingham on September 3, 2002. Dr. Barker and his wife, Justine Rogers, developed a strong interest in the arts including the areas of dance, painting, sculpture, and the theater. Sam and Justine were active participants in the UAB Town and Gown Theatre during their early years in Birmingham, with Sam appearing in several productions, including "Family Portrait" (1956) and "Victoria Regina" (1956), and with Justine as a member of the prop crew for these same productions. Both Sam and Justine were, in fact, members of the crew for the 1955 production of "Candles in the Canebrake," the first Town and Gown production held in the Clark Memorial Theatre. The Barkers were also patrons of various artists and sculptors, and in the early 1970s they commissioned the first piece of outdoor sculpture displayed at UAB. By 1997 more than 25 works of art were located on the university campus as a result of the Barkers. Dr. Barker was a member of the Board of Directors of several local arts organizations, including the Birmingham Creative Dance Company, the Birmingham Festival of the Arts, and the Birmingham Symphony Association. He was also president of the Birmingham Festival Theatre from 1980 until 1981 and was a charter member of the Greater Birmingham Arts Alliance, for which he served as president from 1971 until 1974. Dr. Barker was also the chair of the Fine Arts Committee at Birmingham-Southern College. |
| Scope and Contents | Materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, newsletters, notes, programs, plaques, ephemera, memorabilia, news clippings |
| Arrangement | Organized into two series representing the two transfers of material, and then each series is divided into subseries by subject. |
| Accession Number | M1998-20 and M2003-09 |
| Provenance | The material constituting this collection arrived in the UAB Archives in two discrete accessions. The first set of records, approximately 2 cubic feet, were in the possession of Dr. Barker until July 31, 1998, when he transferred them to the UAB Archives. In 2003 the executor of the Barker estate transferred another 17 cubic feet of material from the Barker home. The two accessions were combined to form one comprehensive manuscript collection. |
| Fnding Aid | Printed descriptive guide by Donnelly F. Lancaster, Jennifer L. Beck, and Tim L. Pennycuff available in repository |
| Access Points | Arts z Alabama z Birmingham. Barker, Samuel Booth, d 1912-2002. Carmichael, Emmett, d 1895-1985. University of Alabama at Birmingham. University of Vermont. Von Trapp, Maria, d 1905-1987. |
| Document Types |
Correspondence |
| Location | Manuscript Stacks |
| Related Series | 9.2, Administrative Files of Distinguished Professor Samuel B. Barker 37.1, Graduate School Dean’s Administrative Files PMC70, Samuel B. Barker Photograph Collection |
| Physical Condition | Acid free folders and acid free boxes |
This page created 1999 and last updated on 27 November 2018.
Copyright: The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.