No Exit, the first student production, 1970

The first all-student theatre production at UAB was Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit in the fall of 1970.  The show was mounted as a theater-in-the-round production on the stage of the university's Clark Memorial Theatre off Highland Avenue.  It was directed by faculty member Ward Haarbauer and featured UAB students Jim Hethcox, Rosa Melton, Pat Purcell, and Julie Templin.  No Exit predates the establishment of a formal academic department, which was first created in 1973 as the Department of Performing Arts.  It became the Department of Theatre and Dance in 1980 and was renamed as the Department of Theatre in 1995.  Dr. Haarbauer was the inaugural departmental chair, serving from 1973 until 1981.

UAB Archives announces the opening of a major archival collection from the UAB Department of Theatre.  Record Group 50 contains over 1,600 photographs, hundreds of playbills and event programs, and administrative files from the department dated 1970 until the present.  Contact the UAB Archives for additional information.

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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 President Joseph F. Volker (second from right) speaking to members of the UAB community.  Dr. Volker and the group were enjoying the day in the plaza between the Sterne Library (left) and University College Building No. 1 [later the School of Education Building].  A new outdoor plaza has just opened between Sterne Library and the newest academic building on the UAB campus, Phase I of the Science and Engineering Complex.  The new building replaced the School of Education Building and will be occupied this summer by the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Physics.

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In February 1973 UAB opened a new bookstore after a move from the store's prior location in the basement of Tidwell Hall.  The "new" bookstore, a building which had formerly housed a dry-cleaning business, was located on 15th Street South at the corner of 8th Avenue South.  The bookstore remained in this location until it was moved into the original Hill University Center in 1983.  This building was again renovated and was renamed as the 15th Street Classroom Building, which provided the academic community with six classrooms and a conference-seminar space.  The building was demolished in 2006 as development proceeded on the Campus Green.

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In this image from a 1975 campus publication, Santa Claus donned a special UAB suit to wish everyone on campus a happy holiday season.

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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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University College Building No. 1 and Mervyn H. Sterne Library were among the first four buildings constructed for the new University College campus. The four buildings were dedicated during ceremonies held on May 20, 1973. In September 1983 Building No. 1 was rededicated as the School of Education Building. The education school moved out of its long-time home in 2020, and the building is slated for demolition in order to make way for a new Science and Engineering Complex.

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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

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

UAB began NCAA-level basketball play on November 24, 1978, with an inaugural game against the University of Nebraska before a crowd of over 14,800 in the arena at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.  Coach Gene Bartow's Blazers lost 64-55.  Five days later, Coach Fran Merrell and the Women's Basketball team competed in their first game at the BJCC; the Blazers lost to the University of North Alabama 82-77.

This month we celebrate the 40th anniversary of an intercollegiate athletics program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  Today, UAB provides eleven sports teams for female students and seven for male students.  There are also three spirit and two band programs that support the athletic program and entertain event attendees.  Go Blazers!

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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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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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