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.

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The library was formally dedicated in May 1973 as part of UAB’s new University College campus.  It was officially rededicated on October 23, 1974, as the Sterne Library in memory of a prominent local civic leader, Civil Rights activist, and UAB supporter.

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Following the 1963 death of President Kennedy, some of his personal papers and memorabilia toured America. Administrators at the Medical Center were responsible for the display being exhibited in Birmingham on September 16-17 in the gymnasium of the Ft. Mortimer H. Jordan National Guard Armory (later UAB’s Mortimer Jordan Hall).

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Dr. Roy Kracke, became the first dean of the new medical school in Birmingham on August 1, 1944. He had one year to set up the four-year school in the crowded Jefferson Hillman Hospital complex, and the first new faculty were hired by the end of the year. Junior students began clinical training in June 1945. Faculty and staff were moved from Tuscaloosa in September and classes for freshmen began on October 8, 1945.

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The fund was established in 1984, and in July Dr. Virginia D. Gauld (right) was selected as first president of the UAB Faculty and Staff Benevolent Fund Council, a new 32-member group to oversee UAB’s charitable giving campaign.

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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.

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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.

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Hospital Administrator Matthew F. McNulty, Jr. (right), tours Frank E. and Margaret Cameron Spain through the new center named in their honor while hospital staff demonstrate a circular treatment bed. The Spains donated half a million dollars to help fund the Medical Center's rehabilitation facility and the center was officially opened during ceremonies held April 25-26, 1964.

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Dr. Tinsley R. Harrison (right) was the first Distinguished Faculty Lecturer at UAB. His talk, “Witches and Doctors,” was presented on March 3, 1964, at a banquet held at the Parliament House Hotel. The DFL is the highest honor awarded by UAB to a member of the medical center faculty. In 1975 the event was moved from the spring to the fall. Also pictured in 1964 are (left) Dr. Joseph F. Volker, vice president for Health Affairs, and (center) Dr. Frank A. Rose, president of The University of Alabama.

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For all Distinguished Faculty Lecturers, see the chronological history of UAB

A new UAB-wide transportation system, the Blazer Express, was inaugurated in January 2014, but in earlier years the university also provided transportation options. Old school buses, shown here parked near the Ullman-Bell Complex, were used in the 1970s and 1980s to transport students from parking lots to classrooms and to various university events.

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Opened for classes during the fall of 1983, the Business-Engineering Complex was formally dedicated on January 21, 1984, as a new home for UAB’s Schools of Business and Engineering.

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