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A series of images from the UAB Archives

Image of the Month (2020)

  • University Hospital decorated for the holiday season, 1965

    University Hospital decorated for the holiday season, 1965
    December 2020 Image of the Month
    In ceremonies held December 26-30, 1940, Jefferson County officials dedicated the county's new private-pay hospital, and Jefferson Hospital was opened for patients the following February.  In 1944 Jefferson Hospital and the adjacent Hillman Hospital were deeded to the University of Alabama for use as part of the university's new medical center in Birmingham.  Renamed as Jefferson Tower in 1979, the building remains a major component of UAB's multi-block hospital complex.

    Image ID: P16.1.1, #0509

  • Women’s Synchronized Swimming team, circa 2000

    UAB Women’s Synchronized Swimming team, circa 2000
    November 2020 Image of the Month
    In 1999 UAB became one of just a handful of academic institutions to sponsor an intercollegiate synchronized swimming team, and the new team debuted in an exhibition at the aquatic center in the Bell Gymon November 18, 1999.  In 2002 the Blazers finished third in the Collegiate Nationals competition – the team’s highest national ranking.  In 2008 UAB administration announced that the team would be eliminated at the end of the 2009 academic year.

    Image ID: A2007-11P

  • UAB Exhibit at the Alabama State Fair, 1970

    UAB booth at the Alabama State Fair
    October 2020 Image of the Month
    In 1970 UAB provided those attending the Alabama State Fair with an informational booth to highlight the new university's health science and academic components.  Within the booth, large stacked acrylic blocks spelled out U.A.B.

    The Alabama State Fair was held annually at the state fairground in the Central Park neighborhood in western Birmingham.  The old fairground site is currently the location of the Birmingham CrossPlex, the indoor home facility for UAB Blazer track and field.

    Image ID: P7.2.7, #0860

  • UAB Blazers celebrate victory over the LSU Tigers, 2000

    UAB defeats LSU on homecoming 2000
    September 2020 Image of the Month

    On September 23, 2000, the UAB Blazers shocked the LSU Tigers by defeating the Tigers 13-10 in their homecoming game in Baton Rouge.  The Blazers, who never trailed during the game, won on a last-second field goal by Rhett Gallego; it was UAB’s first ever win over a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC).  The Blazers ended the 2000 season with an overall record of 7-4.

    The UAB Blazers began this unprecedented 2020 football season on Thursday, September 3, as one of the nation’s first two FBS games.  UAB defeated Central Arkansas 45-35 in a game at Legion Field before 12,000 fans.  Go Blazers!!

    Image ID: A2018-06P

  • Computer Assisted Instruction at UAB, 1978

    Computer Assisted Instruction at UAB
    August 2020 Image of the Month
    At the start of the new term, six computer terminals were designated to provide tutorial assistance for classes in algebra and in genetics in a pilot project believed to have been the first such program offered in the southeastern US.  The terminals were located in the Instructional Resource Center, housed in University College Building No. 1 (today's School of Education Building), and the program was overseen by UAB Special Studies.

    Image ID: P7.4.1, #0653

  • Mowing the median along Eighth Avenue South, 1979

    Mowing the median along Eighth Avenue South, 1979
    July 2020 Image of the Month
    A member of the UAB grounds staff keeps the grass cut along one of Birmingham's busiest thoroughfares in this image looking east along Eighth Avenue South.  Like then, UAB staff in grounds, as well as maintenance and housekeeping, continue working at the university even during the current period of limited business operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  With an east-west pathway through the middle of the UAB campus, Eighth Avenue South was renamed as University Boulevard in 1981.

    Image ID: P7.3.1, #0220

  • UAB’s First Commencement Ceremony, June 7, 1970

    UAB’s First Commencement Ceremony, June 7, 1970
    June 2020 Image of the Month
    President Joseph F. Volker (left) presents a diploma to one of UAB's first graduates.  The new university awarded diplomas to 478 graduates during an evening ceremony held in the city auditorium on Sunday, June seventh.  Ronald T. Acton received a PhD in Microbiology, becoming the first person to receive a degree from UAB, and President Volker received the university's first honorary degree.

    Image ID: P7.2.11, #0022

  • UAB Campus Recreation Center opens, May 2005

    UAB Campus Recreation Center opens, 2005
    May 2020 Image of the Month
    President Carol Z. Garrison (left) guides visitors through the university's new Campus Recreation Center as it opened to the UAB community on May 1, 2005.  A formal opening ceremony was held later in the summer.  The Campus Recreation Center houses an indoor pool, climbing wall, indoor track, court space, and a fitness center and anchors the northeastern corner of the UAB Campus Green.

    Image ID: A2018-13P

  • University Hospital's Isolation Unit, 1960

    University Hospital's Isolation Unit, 1960
    April 2020 Image of the Month
    The Isolation Unit was located on the twelfth floor of Jefferson Tower.  During a time when hospitals had few antibiotics and undiagnosed infections were more prevalent, it was not uncommon for incoming patients to first be admitted to the Isolation Unit before being transferred to another ward within the hospital.

    Image ID: P16.1.12, #4433

  • Dean Milly Cowles at her desk, 1980

    Dean Milly Cowles at her desk, 1980
    March 2020 Image of the Month
    On March 15, 1980, Dr. Milly E. Cowles became the second dean of the School of Education, becoming the second female named as a dean at UAB and the first female dean of a non-health science school.  Cowles had joined the UAB faculty in 1973.  When she retired in 1987, Dr. Cowles was named as a Distinguished Service Professor by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.

    Image ID: P23.3

  • Nursing students enjoy some off time in Hillman Hospital’s nursing residence, circa 1910

    Nursing students enjoy some off time in Hillman Hospital’s nursing residence, circa 1910
    February 2020 Image of the Month
    The Hillman Hospital Training School for Nurses opened soon after the 1903 completion of the new hospital facility.  The first class of nursing students graduated February 28, 1905, with Elizabeth Hale of Birmingham as the program’s first graduate.  The hospital-based diploma school became part of the university in 1945 when the university’s medical center was established in the Jefferson and Hillman hospitals.  The last class graduated from the hospital school in 1969 and the program was eliminated.

    Image ID: MC51, #125h

  • All shook up at a basketball game, January 1992

    All shook up at a basetball game, January 1992
    January 2020 Image of the Month
    UAB mascot Beauregard T. Rooster marked the January 4th men's basketball game against Memphis State University by dressing as Elvis Presley, one of the city's most famous residents.  The MSU Tigers defeated the UAB Blazers before a sell-out crowd of 8,510 and ended UAB's 13-game winning streak.

    Image ID: P6.1, #1525a

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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