Primitiva Isar (left) and Leonides Bulawin (right), who were working in the hospital as Exchange Visitor Nurses, enjoy a visit with Santa Claus.

Image ID: P16.1.2, #2368

When the medical school was established in Birmingham, the university acquired the former Cullom Apartments for use as faculty and student housing.  The 18 apartment buildings fronted South 20^th Street and 8^th Avenue South. The buildings later held various campus offices, such as the Urban Affairs Institute and offices for anthropology, art, chemistry, biology, and natural sciences. In 1962 some of the buildings were demolished to build the Engineering Building [Cudworth Education Center]. The remaining buildings were demolished in 1969 for the construction of the Kahler Plaza Hotel [Birmingham Hilton Hotel].

Image ID: MC51, #152a

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 Army ROTC program at UAB was established in September 1980 with 12 student cadets. In 1983 UAB was granted host institution status and became home to the newest battalion of the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. UAB’s Army ROTC program is currently headquartered in the 501 Building on 12^th Street South.

Image ID: P7.2.6, #0021

These students make good use of the new pedestrian bridge crossing University Boulevard at South 13th Street.  The bridge was completed in 1975 as UAB experienced dramatic growth in the student population. Total enrollment grew from 5,381 in 1969-70 — UAB's first year as an independent university — to 12,119 in 1975-76 the year the footbridge was completed on the western end of the UAB campus. The undergraduate enrollment grew 109% during that time period.

Image ID: P7.2.7, #2065

The Kracke Clinical Services Building on Seventh Avenue South was dedicated on July 18, 1965, and was named in honor of the late Dr. Roy R. Kracke, the first dean of the four-year medical school in Birmingham. The building had opened in 1929 as a dormitory for students of the nursing school at Hillman Hospital and it remained a nursing student residence until 1963.

Image ID: P8.1.1, #0025

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

Several hundred students, faculty, and community members held a protest in front of the College of General Studies Building on South 20^th Street. The protest was held in support of Kent State University following the deaths of four students who had been killed by the Ohio National Guard on May fourth.

Image ID: P7.3.1, #1026
#may4matters

By state law and local regulation, the hospital complex at UAB was segregated by race; a sign noting a white waiting room is visible in this image. This situation began to change in 1963 and effective on April 25, 1965, the hospital and the medical center were integrated. A few weeks later, Federal officials toured the UAB Medical Center and concluded that all policies and procedures of racial segregation had been eliminated and the university was in full compliance with federal law.

Image ID: P16.1.2, #0577

Dr. Kraus was a member of the dental school faculty and was chief of dental service at the Veterans Administration Hospital.  One of the founders of the Concerned White Citizens of Alabama, Kraus joined those marching in Selma, Alabama, in March of 1965. He later said he hoped the group's participation would give more Alabamians "the courage to stand up for equality."

Image ID: P7.2.1, #0223

In 1955 the University’s five-year old Town and Gown Theatre program was moved into a new home, the Clark Memorial Theatre on Highland Avenue. The first production in this new location was Candles in the Canebrake, which opened on February 14, 1955, and told the story of the Vine and Olive Colony settlement near Demopolis, Alabama.

Image ID: P45.2, #0741

On the 60^th anniversary of that inaugural performance, the UAB Archives announced the opening of a major collection of Town and Gown archival material, with over 5,000 photographs, hundreds of playbills and event programs, several scrapbooks, and administrative files. Click here to review Record Group 45 or here to contact the UAB Archives for additional information.

Larry Davis (left) and Floyd Miller (right) operate the IBM computers located in the basement of University Hospital.  An automated accounting system for hospital billing and payroll was implemented in 1967.

Image ID: P16.1.2, #2375