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A series of images from the UAB Archives

1990s

  • Honorary Degree Awarded, June 2, 1996

    Dr. Lorden fixes a graduation hood on Stevie Wonder
    June 2016 Image of the Month

    Dr. Joan F. Lorden, dean of the Graduate School, hoods Stevie Wonder during UAB's commencement ceremony.  UAB awarded the honorary Doctor of Music degree to Stevie Wonder, the world-renowned singer, composer, and musician.  Wonder worked extensively over the years with long-time UAB faculty member Dr. Henry S. Panion, III, who served as chair of the UAB music department from 1994 until 2000.

    Image ID: P7.3.13, #0962

  • Groundbreaking ceremony, May 2, 1991

    A man leans over a hole in the ground as a speaker behind a lecturn watches
    May 2016 Image of the Month

    Dr. John D. Jones, vice president for Student Affairs, watches a member of the UAB community participating in the groundbreaking for a new international house. The Bertha and Joseph Smolian International House on 10th Avenue South was formally dedicated on April 28, 1992. It was named in honor of long-time UAB benefactors; an earlier International House on 9th Avenue South had also been named in honor of the Smolians.

    Image ID #P23.3

  • Blaze with UAB Cheerleaders at a basketball game, 1996

    Blaze stands with two male cheerleaders on a basketball court
    October 2015 Image of the Month

    The new UAB mascot was unveiled on October 18, 1995, and debuted to the public at a basketball game in Bartow Arena on January 6, 1996. The green dragon named Blaze is the university’s fourth mascot since 1978 when the athletic program was established. Student Wyndall Ivey was the first student to don the dragon costume.

    Image ID: P23.1

  • The Statue of Hippocrates, circa 1990

    Hippocrates statue dressed in a blue grass skirt with a Bermuda bound sign
    June 2015 Image of the Month

    Some UAB students, who were leaving campus for the summer, made known their travel plans by decorating Hippocrates for a beach holiday. The 5,000-pound marble sculpture by Greek artist Kostas Georgakas commemorated the Greek father of western medicine. The piece was presented to UAB in 1971 by Sam and Agatha Nakos, local Birmingham business owners, and originally stood in the courtyard in front of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences. In 1996 the sculpture was moved into the ground-floor lobby of the newly expanded library building.

    Image ID: P17.1.10, #0183

  • UAB art students in the White House, December 1994

    A group of art students pose in front of a Christmas tree in the White House
    December 2014 Image of the Month

    First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton invited college students from around the country to create ornaments depicting the “Twelve Days of Christmas,” the chosen theme for the holiday season. Ornaments submitted by the UAB students were displayed on a 19-foot tree in the Blue Room. The UAB students were given a private tour of the White House as thanks for their contributions.

    Image ID: P7.4.1, #1324

  • Dr. Virginia D. Horns-Marsh with the UAB Mace, June 1990

    A woman holds a mace at a graduation ceremony
    June 2014 Image of the Month

    Dr. Horns-Marsh, professor of Education, carried the UAB Mace when it was first debuted at the June 4, 1989, commencement ceremony. Created by local sculptor Cordray Parker, the mace was commissioned by Justine and Samuel B. Barker. The Barkers were leading patrons of the local arts community, and Dr. Barker was the first dean of the UAB Graduate School.

    Image ID: P7.4.1, #1413

  • UAB Cross-Country Team, circa 1993

    Female runners going through a wooded area
    May 2014 Image of the Month

    The UAB Blazer Cross-Country Team competed in an invitational tournament held at Auburn, Alabama.

    The Women's Cross-Country program was initiated in 1979 with Brenda Williams as the first head coach.

    Image ID: P6.1, #3975

  • UAB MedJet in air, circa 1990

    The UAB medical jet in air
    November 2013 Image of the Month

    The UAB Critical Care Transport Service began in 1983 with transportation by specially equipped ambulance or medical jet. As of 2013 the CCT service has transported over 42,000 patients and has logged more than 27 million miles.

    Image ID: P16.1.7, #0028

  • Looking down South 18th Street toward Red Mountain, March 1993

    Snow lines a street in downtown Birmingham
    March 2013 Image of the Month

    The Blizzard of 1993, the so-called “Storm of the Century,” impacted 26 states and much of eastern Canada, bringing record snowfall across North America.  Over the weekend of March 12-13 Birmingham received 13 inches of snow but some locations in the metropolitan area received up to 17 inches. This was a record for a single snowfall and was more than ever received during an entire winter season. All activities at UAB except for essential hospital services were cancelled and many staff remained at their jobs for days.

    Image: Progress Notes yearbook

  • Columbus statue unveiled, October 1992

    A group of men pose in front of a statue of Christopher Columbus
    October 2012 Image of the Month

    A marble statue of Christopher Columbus was unveiled on the terrace of the UAB Smolian International House as part of Birmingham’s Columbus Day celebration. The project was supported by the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus and by the Bruno family. UAB President Charles A. McCallum, Jr. (far right), Joseph S. Bruno (center), and other guests are shown with the work of sculptor Ugo Sordelli.

    Image ID: P7.4.1, #594

  • The UAB Marching Blazers, circa 1994

    Four members of the UAB marching band stand on a field
    September 2012 Image of the Month

    Following a debut during an away game, the marching band performed at home for the first time at Legion Field on September 17, 1994, with music professor Clifford Winter (second from right) as band director and student Brian Wilson as the first drum major. UAB had hosted a pep band for basketball games since the late 1970s, but a new NCAA-level football team needed a marching band to perform during half-time shows.

    Image ID:  P6, #002

  • The Kirklin Clinic, 1992

    Exterior of The Kirklin Center
    August 2012 Image of the Month

    In 1990 ground was broken for a new outpatient clinic for The University of Alabama Health Services Foundation.  Designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, the facility was named in honor of Dr. John W. Kirklin, former chair of the UAB Department of Surgery and former president of the foundation.  The Kirklin Clinic was dedicated on June 5, 1992.

    Image ID: P6, #007

  • A parade kicks off Birmingham's celebration of the Centennial Olympic Games, July 19, 1996

    Three men march with a banner in front of a parade
    July 2012 Image of the Month

    Legion Field was a host site for soccer matches as part of the XXVI Olympic Games held in Atlanta, Georgia.  Over 431,200 people attended the eleven matches held in Birmingham.  The West Field on the UAB campus was used as a practice site, and UAB was the location for a reception honoring local volunteers.  This parade traveled down South 20th Street through the UAB campus.

    Image ID: P23.1

  • The Shuttle Columbia roars into space, June 25, 1992

    The Shuttle Columbia at liftoff
    June 2012 Image of the Month

    Aboard Columbia was Dr. Lawrence “Larry” DeLucas, a member of the UAB faculty and a UAB alumnus.  The university’s first astronaut and the first optometrist in space, Dr. DeLucas was a payload specialist aboard NASA space mission STS-50. Columbia and crew returned to earth on July ninth. This image is an official NASA photograph.

    Image ID: P7.3.6, #0120

  • President Charles A. McCallum, Jr., welcomes a visitor to his office in Mortimer Jordan Hall, January 1992

    Trash Gordon, UAB's recycling mascot, stands next to President Charles A. McCallum Jr.
    January 2012 Image of the Month

    Trash Gordon, the new mascot of the UAB Recycling Program, was introduced that month and appeared at events on campus and around the metropolitan area. The program also introduced a new theme: "We're litter free at UAB: reduce it, redo it, recycle."

    Image ID: P7.4.1, #337

  • Santa visits University Hospital with a little help from the elves of the Maintenance Department, circa 1990

    Santa riding on a chair through the hospital hallways
    December 2011 Image of the Month

    The University Hospital Maintenance Department began collecting for the Christmas Toy Fund in 1981 to ensure that hospitalized patients received gifts during the holiday.

    Image ID:  P16.1.11, #0170

  • Blazer Quarterback Doug Gann (left) in the first NCAA football game for UAB, September 7, 1991

    A UAB quarterback runs with the ball with a opponent to his side
    September 2011 Image of the Month

    The university fielded a club team in 1989 but in the fall of 1991 UAB began play as an NCAA Division III team.  In the game played in Jackson, Mississippi, the Blazers lost to Millsaps College.

    Image ID:  P6.1, #2742

  • Groundbreaking for a new research facility, June 5, 1990

    A man addresses a crowd
    June 2011 Image of the Month

    President Charles A. McCallum, Jr., speaks to the crowd assembled for the ceremony.  When opened in 1993 the building was named in honor of Alabama Representative Tom Bevill. Seated on the platform with Dr. McCallum are UAB officials (left to right) Drs. John R. Durant, Vice President for Health Affairs; Victor J. Matukas, Dean of Dentistry; and James A. Pittman, Jr., Dean of Medicine.

    Image ID: P6 #01

  • UAB Madrigal Feaste, December 1994

    A man and woman in costume dancing
    December 2009 Image of the Month

    This dinner event is typically held during the Christmas season and is often accompanied by choral music and a play featuring characters from the Middle Ages.

    Image ID:  P23.1

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1999

    An actress in a full dress smiles at an actor in front of her
    November 2009 Image of the Month

    This play opened on November 10, 1999 as the first UAB Department of Theatre production to be held in the new Sirote Theatre. The work had been adapted by Karma Ibsen to be set in the Antebellum South.

    Image ID:  P7.3.13, #085

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Mervyn H. Sterne Library

917 13th St S
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-6364

Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences

1700 University Blvd
Birmingham, AL

(205) 975-4821

Reynolds-Finley Historical Library

1700 University Blvd - 3rd Floor
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-4475

Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences

1700 University Blvd - 3rd Floor
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-4475

Lister Hill Library at University Hospital

615 18th Street S - P235 West Pavilion
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-2275

801 Building

801 5th Ave South
Room 1111
Birmingham, AL

(205) 934-5432

J. Ellis Sparks Medical Library

301 Governors Drive SE - 3rd Floor
Huntsville, AL 35801

(256) 551-4405

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