On September 5, 1969, Dr. Volker officially became the first president of UAB, a new university within the three-campus University of Alabama System.  Volker had been named president-elect of the new university the previous June.  On his first day in office, the Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Action Committee, and Operation New Birmingham hosted a testimonial dinner to honor and celebrate the new university and its inaugural president.  Several hundred civic, business, academic, and political leaders attended the black-tie dinner at the Municipal Auditorium [today's Boutwell Auditorium].

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